LIBRARY 

OF  THK 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA. 


OIKT  OK 


Class 

.    : 


FLOWERS   OF   SONG  FROM   MANY  LANDS 


FLOWERS   OF  SONG 
FROM  MANY  LANDS 

BEING  SHORT  POEMS  AND  DETACHED  VERSES 

GATHERED  FROM  VARIOUS  LANGUAGES  AND 

RENDERED    INTO   ENGLISH 

BY 
FREDERIC  ROWLAND   MARVIN 


PAFRAETS   BOOK   COMPANY 
TROY   NEW   YORK 


This  Edition  of  Flowers  of  Song  from  Many  Lands  consists  of  one  thousand 
copies,  printed  at  The  Merrymount  Press,  Boston,  of  which  sixty-three  contain 
a  portrait  of  the  Author  on  parchment  and  are  numbered. 


Copyright,  1902,  by  Frederic  Rowland  Marvin 
December,  1902 


D.  B.  Updike,  The  Merrymount  Press,  Boston 


PREFACE 

THE  florist  who  gathered  these  "Flowers  of  Song"  from  so  many 
gardens  and  conservatories  in  lands  widely  removed  from  each 
other,  takes  this  opportunity  of  disclaiming  originality.  Some  of 
these  leaves,  buds,  and  blossoms  (for  they  are  not  all  full-blown 
flowers,  rich  in  beauty  and  fragrance)  have  been  taken  directly 
from  the  soil  in  which  they  grew;  but  a  much  larger  number  of 
them  have  come  from  reliable  prose  renderings.  Some  are  as 
familiar  as  were  the  marigolds  and  hollyhocks  of  the  old-fash 
ioned  gardens  to  our  grandparents;  and  some  are  not  often  seen 
in  English  collections.  But  each  specimen  is  in  some  way  charac 
teristic,  and  has  its  peculiar  interest,  when  one  considers  soil  and 
climate.  If  English  readers  find  in  these  unequal  lines  pleasure 
and  profit  for  the  passing  hour,  the  florist  will  count  himself  well 
rewarded  for  all  his  labor.  The  turning  of  these  verses  into 
English  rhyme  has  been  the  delightful  entertainment  of  many  an 
evening  in  the  library. 

F.  R.  M. 


CONTENTS 


TRANSLATIONS    FROM    GOETHE 

THE  SONG  OF  THE  SPIRIT  OVER  THE  WATERS 

THE    MASON'S    LODGE 

THE    SPIRIT'S    SALUTE 

CALM    AT    SEA 

THE    EAGLE    AND    THE    DOVE 

THE    UNEQUAL    MARRIAGE 

MIRACLE 

THE    ERROR    WE    CLASP   TO    OUR    HEART 

TWO    THREATS 

APPARENT    DEATH 

THE  SOLDIER'S  SOLACE 

TO  A  METAPHYSICIAN 

THE  BOUNDARIES  OF  HUMANITY 

COMPANIONSHIP 

EACH    LIKES    BEST   THE    PLACE   WHEREIN    HE 
LIVES 

THE    GOLDEN    AGE 

WHEN    TWO    MEN    QUARREL 

THE    FAVORED    BEASTS 

THE    ILIAD  Schiller 

THE    FOUNTAIN    OF   YOUTH  Schiller 

LILY    AND    ROSE  Herder 

SINGS   THE    BEE   UNTO    HER    SON  Heine 

THE    BLIND    PASSENGER  Heine 

THE    PALM  Heine 


PAGE 
15 
16 

18 
18 
19 
21 
21 
21 
22 
22 
23 
23 
23 
25 

25 
26 
26 
27 
28 
28 
29 
30 
31 
31 


CONTENTS 

SOME    TO    HOLY    MARY    KNEEL 

WHEN    THOU    HAST    WEDDED 

ON    DR.    MEAD 

HUMANITY 

HYMN 

THE    EVENING    HOUR 

HUMAN    LIFE 

GERMAN    COURAGE 

HYMN    OF    CONTRITION 

TO    MY    PHYSICIAN 

REMEMBRANCE 

SPIRITUAL    EPIGRAMS 

THE    COST    OF    PROSECUTION 

ADIEU 

WOMAN'S  SWORD 

FRENCH  PROVERB 

THE  HOPELESSNESS  OF  FOLLY 

THE  LAST  WORDS  OF  RABELAIS 

FAITH 

THE    HAPPY    MAN 

THE    WHISTLING    DAUGHTER 

EPITAPH    ON    AGNES    SOREL 

THE    ASS    AND    THE    FLUTE 

A   REVELLER    IN   THE    INN    OF    LIFE      From  the  Spanish 

6 


Heine 

PAGE 

32 

Heine 

32 

Leasing 

33 

Kinkel 

33 

Martin  Luther 

35 

From  the  German 

36 

From  the  German 

37 

Eichendorff 

38 

From  the  German 

39 

Elizabeth  Kulmann 

40 

Matthisson 

41 

Angelus  Silesius 

42 

From  the  French 

44 

From  the  French 

44 

From  the  French 

45 

45 

From  the  French 

46 

From  the  French 

46 

Victor  Hugo 

47 

From  King  Alfred's  Metres  of 
Boethius 

47 

From  the  Dutch 

48 

Francis  I 

49 

Tomas  de  Yriarte 

49 

From  the  Spanish 

51 

CONTENTS 

SPANISH    PROVERBS 

SONG   OF   THE   WANDERING   KNIGHT 

GOD    SEES    ME    THOUGH    I    SEE    HIM 
NOT 

'TIS    THE    ALMIGHTY'S    GRACIOUS 
PLAN 

ON    MICHAEL   ANGELo's    STATUE   OF 
NIGHT 

TO  A  FALSE  LADY 

THE  ONLY  PLACE  OF  REST 

CHRISTMAS  CAROL 

THE  CARDINALS 

IMMORTAL  YOUTH 

THE  LIFE  OF  MAN  IS  AS  THE  DUST 

MISGUIDED  CHARITY 

TURKISH  PROVERB 

ON  HOLBEIN'S  HALF-LENGTH  POR 
TRAIT  OF  ERASMUS 

ON  A  FLY  ENGRAVED  IN   A  GOLDEN 
DRINKING-CUP 

THE    PRIEST    AND    THE    THIEF 
TRANSUBSTANTIATION 

BALAAM'S  ASS 

AD    MINISTRUM 
SOCRATES 
FOOLISH    WORDS 


PAGE 

52 

From  the  Spanish 

53 

From  the  Scandinavian 

53 

From  the  Scandinavian 

54 

From  the  Italian 

54 

From  the  Italian 

55 

From  the  Italian 

56 

From  the  Italian 

57 

Francesco  DalV  Ongaro 

58 

Khushhal  Khan 

58 

Khushhal  Khan 

59 

Turkish  Saying 

59 

60 

Theodore  Beza 

60 

Cunradinus 

60 

Georgius  Salinus 

61 

From  the  Latin  of  XV  Century 

61 

From  the  Latin  of  XV  Century 

62 

Horace 

62 

Latin  Anthology 

63 

Catullus 

63 

7 

CONTENTS 


EPIGRAMS    FROM    MARTIAL 
IMPROMPTU    VERSES 
TO    AVITUS 
TO    AFRICANUS 
TO    PELLA 

ON    SOME    SCULPTURED    FISH 
THE    COOK 

AN    INSECT    IN    AMBER 
TO    PONTICUS 
ON    QUINTUS 
TO    .ERNITIANUS 
ON    FABULLUS 

AN    ORACLE    OF    THE    PYTHIAN 

PRIESTESS  From  the  Greek 

THE  WHITE  COWS  TO  MARCUS  CAESAR  From  the  Greek 

MORTALITY  Menander 

THE   BEST    COUNTRY  Aristophanes 

THE    NOBLEST    GIFT  jEschylus 

CURES    FOR   LOVE  Crates  of  Thebes 
A    GREEK    EPITAPH 

EPITAPH    FOR   TIMON    THE 

MISANTHROPE  Hegesippus 

EARTH    TO    EARTH  Diodorus  Zonas 

THE    FLIGHT    OF    TIME  From  the  Greek 

APHRODITE  Greek  Anthology 

THE    USELESSNESS    OF    LABOR  Palladas 

THE    GIFT    OF    THE    MUSES  From  the  Greek 


64 
64 
65 
65 
65 
66 

66 
66 
67 
67 
67 

68 
68 
69 
69 
70 
70 
71 

71 

72 
72 
73 
73 

74 


8 


CONTENTS 


ON    THOSE    WHO    FELL    AT 

THERMOPYLAE 

Greek  Epitaph 

74 

PLATO'S  EPITAPH 

Speusippus 

75 

LOVE    IN    OLD    AGE 

Paulus  Silentiarius 

75 

EVERY    MAN    FOR    HIMSELF 

Greek  Anthology 

76 

EPITAPH  FOR  THE  SIBYL  HEROPHILE 

From  the  Greek 

76 

AFTER    THE    FEAST 

Automedon 

77 

HOMERIC    COUPLET 

77 

GREEK    EPIGRAM 

78 

TRUE    RICHES 

Hesiod 

78 

GREEK    EPITAPHS 

79 

CONSCIENCE 

Antiphanes 

80 

THE    DEADLY    PRESENCE 

Hedylus 

80 

THE    COMMON    DOOM 

Plato  the  Philosopher 

81 

UNDER   A    WINGED    CUPID 

From  the  Greek 

81 

INSCRIPTION    OVER   A    TEMPLE 

Greek  Anthology 

82 

TO    A    MURDERER 

Greek  Anthology 

82 

DIOGENES 

Leonidas 

83 

ARISTOPHANES 

Greek  Anthology 

83 

ENVY 

Greek  Anthology 

84 

COUNSEL 

Lucian 

84 

THE    MISER'S    GRIEF 

Nicarchus 

84 

EQUALITY    IN    THE    GRAVE 

Anyte  of  Tegea 

85 

LAIS    DEDICATES    HER   MIRROR    TO 

VENUS 

Plato  the  Philosopher 

85 

CONTENTS 


THE    TYRIAN    LANDSCAPE 

RICHES   ACQUIRED    IN    OLD    AGE 

THE    STUPID    BRAHMIN 

SANSCRIT    COUPLETS 

HOW   TO    BECOME    A    SAINT 

RENUNCIATION 

THE    TRUE    GIFT 

DISTASTE    FOR   LIFE 

THE    PRESENT    HEAVEN 

WHAT   NEED    OF    SACRED    HOUSE? 

SUNRISE 

THE  APPOINTED  HOUR 
THE  CREATION  OF  SEX 
THE  BRAHMIN'S  DELIGHT 
THE  HELPFUL  DRUG 
THE  HOUSE  OF  GOD 
PERSIAN  COUPLETS 
ENVY  PURSUES  THE  FRUITFUL 
THE  PRAYER  OF  A  PERSIAN 
THE  CHOICE  OF  FRIENDS 
THE  SUMMARY  OF  THE  LAW 
THE  UNITY  OF  FAITH 
MUCH  IN  LITTLE 
THE  DIVINE  DEMAND 
MAJNUN'S  LOVE 
10 


Nonnus 

PAGE 

86 

From  the  Greek 

87 

From  the  Hitopadesa 

88 

90 

From  the  Sanscrit 

91 

From  the  Sanscrit 

91 

From  the  Mahabharata 

92 

From  the  Mahabharata 

92 

Hafiz 

93 

Hafiz 

93 

Omar  Khayyam 

94 

From  the  Mahabharata 

94 

Oriental  (from  Ruckert) 

95 

From  the  Sanscrit 

95 

From  the  Hitopadesa 

96 

From  the  Persian 

96 

97 

From  the  Persian 

99 

99 

Saadi 

100 

From  the  Persian 

101 

Vemana 

102 

From  the  Persian 

102 

From  the  Persian 

103 

Nisamt 

103 

CONTENTS 

PAGE 

THE    SUPREME    EMANCIPATION  Saadi  104 

THE  SAINT'S  REPLY  Saadi  104. 

INTOXICATION  Saadi  105 

FAME  Saadi  105 

HYMN    TO    A    STAR  From  the  Persian  106 

GAIN  STRENGTH  BY  HELPING  OTHERS  Saadi  107 

THE    END    OF    TYRANNY  From  the  Persian  107 

AL    CAWTHAR  From  the  Persian  108 

TRANSLATIONS    FROM    THE    ARABIC 

DIVINE    CONTEMPLATION  109 

THE    TRUE    COUNSELLOR  109 

"LET  NOT  THE  MAN  WHO  sows  THORNS 

WALK  BAREFOOT"  109 

THE  FOOL1S  FLIGHT  110 

THE    PENITENT   THIEF  110 

TRUE    GENEROSITY  110 

SCANT    HOSPITALITY  111 

THE    UNHALLOWED    DEAD  111 

PILGRIMAGE  1 1 1 

DECEIVED    BY    APPEARANCES  112 

WHO  HATH  MUCH  CAN  RESIGN  THE  LITTLE  112 

ALL    THE    SAME    AT    LAST  112 

THE    ENVIOUS    CAMEL  113 

STOLEN    GLANCES  113 

THE    COQUETTE  114 

MIND    YOUR    OWN    BUSINESS  114 

FERTILE    OF    RESOURCES  114 

THE    RIGHT    ROAD  115 

WHAT    COMES    OF    QUARRELLING  115 

11 


CONTENTS 


TRANSLATIONS    FROM    THE    HEBREW 
THE    WISDOM    OF    A    CHILDLIKE    SPIRIT 

"GLITTERING  CROWNS  DECEIVE" 
SECRECY 

THE    BIBLE 

THE    THREE    FRIENDS 

MODEST    WORTH    REWARDED 
A    ROYAL   EPITAPH 
THE    BOOK    OF    PYMANDER 
A    HAPPY    LOT 
CONFESSION 
THE   MISSION    OF    SORROW 

INSCRIPTION    ON    THE    BATHING- 
TUB  OF  K'ANG 

WHO    WOULD    PLUCK    THE    FRA 
GRANT    ROSE 


From  the  Phoenician 

From  the  Japanese 
From  the  Japanese 
From  the  Japanese 

From  the  Chinese 


Chinese  Couplet 

THE  WORDS  OF  THE  WISE  ARE   FEW       Saskya  Pandita 
CHINESE    COUPLET 
A    PRAYER    FOR    THE    KING 
THE    HUMAN    SACRIFICE 
CREATION    AND    TRIAL    OF    MAN 
THE    PRAYER    OF    A    RAIDER 


Assyrian  Sacred  Poetry 
South  Sea  Islands 
From  the  Ashanti 
From  the  Osages 


A   MOTHERS    LAMENT    FOR    HER 
DROWNED    SON 

NOTES 


From  the  Greenlandic 


116 
116 
116 
117 
117 
118 

119 

120 
120 
121 
122 

122 

122 
123 
123 
124 
125 
126 
127 

128 
133 


FLOWERS   OF  SONG   FROM   MANY  LANDS 


FLOWERS  OF  SONG  FROM  MANY  LANDS 


TRANSLATIONS  FROM  GOETHE 


THE  SONG  OF  THE  SPIRIT 
OVER  THE  WATERS 

THE  soul  of  man 
Is  like  the  water ; 
From  heaven  it  cometh, 
To  heaven  returneth — 
Ever  and  forever  changing. 

From  lofty  rocky  walls, 
Swift  leaps  the  glowing  flood ; 
Then  in  the  valley  spreads  it  gently 
O'er  the  rocks  in  cloudy  billows, — 
Billows  ever  kindly  welcomed,  — 
Veils  its  murmur  as  it  wanders 
Downward  to  the  waiting  deep. 

Cliffs  projecting 
Oft  oppose  it ; 
Angry,  foaming, 
Downward  moves  it, 
Step  by  step. 

15 


FLOWERS   OF   SONG 

Now  in  smoother  channels 
Through  a  flowery  meadow  winds  it, 
Till,  within  the  lake  reflected, 
Gaze  entranced  the  constellations. 

Wind  is  the  loving 
Wooer  of  the  waters ; 
Wind  together  blendeth 
The  all-foaming  billows. 

Soul  of  man, 
How  like  the  water ! 
Fate  of  man, 
How  like  the  wind ! 


ii 
THE   MASON'S   LODGE 

THE  mason's  ways 
Are  a  symbol  of  life, 
And  his  toil 
Resembles  the  strife 
Of  man  on  earth. 

The  future  hides 
Gladness  and  sorrow; 
Stepwise  to  the  sight, 
Yet  undaunted, 
Ever  on  we  press. 


16 


FROM   MANY   LANDS 

Heavy  and  heavier, 

With  reverence, 

Hangs  the  veil. 

Silent  above  rest  the  stars — 

Silent  below  the  graves ! 

Consider  and  behold  ; 
For,  lo !  there  rise, 
In  the  breasts  of  heroes, 
Ever- changing  awe 
And  earnest  feeling. 

From  yonder  call 
Voices  of  sages— 
Voices  of  masters : 
"Delay  not  to  use 
The  heritage  of  the  good! 

"Here  are  a  weaving, 
In  silence  eternal, 
Crowns  that  with  fulness 
Shall  the  active  reward ! 
We  command  thee  to  hope!' 


1? 


FLOWERS   OF   SONG 

in 
THE   SPIRIT'S   SALUTE 

ON  yonder  castle  tall  and  gray, 
The  mighty  hero's  spirit  stands ; 

A  ship  goes  by — her  wings  are  spread, 
He  speeds  her  on  to  other  lands. 

"Behold  what  strength  these  sinews  held! 

This  changeless  heart,  how  brave  and  free ! 
What  knightly  marrow  filled  these  bones ! 

How  smiled  the  glowing  cup  for  me ! 

"To  battle  half  of  life  I  gave, 

And  half  in  quiet  peace  was  passed. 

O  ship  with  living  men,  sail  on, 
The  tranquil  haven  reach  at  last." 


IV 

CALM   AT   SEA 

'T  is  still  on  the  waters, 
No  wind's  on  the  sea; 

The  sailor  is  troubled, 
He  longs  to  be  free. 


18 


FROM   MANY   LANDS 

No  zephyr  is  breathing, 
The  silence  is  deep ; 

The  waves  of  the  ocean 
Are  buried  in  sleep. 


THE  EAGLE  AND   THE   DOVE 

INTENT  on  prey,  an  eagle  spread 
His  pinions  wide  in  air; 
When  swift  the  huntsman's  arrow  flew, 
And  headlong  downward  to  a  myrtle  grove 
The  daring  voyager  of  the  sky 
Fell  panting,  filled  with  anguish  and  despair; 
And  when  three  days  and  nights  were  gone, 
Kind  Nature's  balm,  that  heals  all  hurts, 
His  fainting  strength  restored. 
The  bird  outstretched  his  wing;— 
Alas!  there  was  no  longer  power  for  flight — 
He  scarce  himself  could  raise 
From  off  the  hard,  unyielding  ground, 
To  seize  some  mean,  unworthy  prey. 
With  bursting  heart,  extended  on  a  rock, 
Hard  by  the  rushing  of  a  mountain  stream, 
Clear,  sweet,  and  pure 
As  are  the  blue  o'er-bending  heavens, 
With  tearful  eye  he  gazed  through  myrtle  boughs, 
To  where  two  doves  with  soft  and  gentle  flutter  of  contented 
wings 

19 


FLOWERS   OF   SONG 

Were  resting  from  their  humble  flight ; 

With  strut  and  nodding  head 

They  wandered  by  the  golden  sand  and  pebbly  shore, 

Or  bathed  their  feet  within  the  silver  tide. 

How  full  their  red-tinged  eyes  with  love ! 

How  low  and  musical  their  cooing  voice! 

They  paused — their  vision  fell 

Upon  the  stricken  sovereign  of  the  air, 

And,  moved  with  pity,  leaped  the  male, 

Complacent,  on  a  nearer  twig,  and  thus  discoursed: 

"What  sorrow  fills  thy  breast?  What  grief  bedews  thine  eye? 

Take  comfort  and  good  cheer,  my  friend, 

For  in  this  forest  deep  all  rare  delights  are  found. 

Hast  thou  not  here  such  boundless  joy 

As  may  all  memories  of  the  sky  efface  ? 

Hast  thou  not  gladness  in  the  bending  bough 

That  fends  thee  from  the  sun's  meridian  heat? 

And  canst  thou  not  thy  breast  uplift 

Upon  the  fragrant  moss, 

And  mark  the  sun's  declining  ray? 

Here  mayst  thou  wander  through  a  world  of  flowers, 

And  gather  food  from  shrub  and  bush  and  tree, 

Or  quench  thy  thirst  at  yonder  bubbling  spring. 

O  friend,  believe  me  this : 

'T  is  sweet  contentment  fills  the  world  with  bliss — 

Be  satisfied  with  that  thou  hast, 

And  everywhere  thou  hast  enough." 

Then  spake  the  eagle  as  he  sank  in  thought, 

"O  wise  one!" — and  he  pondered  what  his  ear  had  heard, — 

"O  wisdom!  like  a  dove  thou  speakest!" 


FROM  MANY  LANDS 

vi 
THE  UNEQUAL  MARRIAGE 

AH,  poorly  matched  were  e'en  the  heavenly  pair; 

Celestial  Psyche,  spirit  clear  and  free, 
New  wisdom  gained  with  every  flying  year, 

But  laughing  Amor,  still  a  child  was  he. 


VII 

MIRACLE 

WHEN  in  this  world  a  miracle  is  wrought, 
'T  is  by  the  loving  heart  and  not  by  thought. 


VIII 

THE  ERROR  WE  CLASP  TO  OUR  HEART 

OTHER  men's  children  we  love  with  tender  affection  and  true, 

but  not  as  our  own : 
The  Error  we  clasp  to  our  heart  that  is  blood  of  our  blood  and 

bone  of  our  bone. 


FLOWERS   OF   SONG 


IX 


TWO   THREATS 

WITHIN  a  forest  dark  I  sought 
A  lovely  maiden,  fair  and  proud, 

And  fondly  clasped  her  neck,  when,  lo ! 
She  threatened :  "  I  will  cry  aloud ! " 

With  haughty  speech  I  shouted  then : 
"Who  dares  approach  thee  I  will  crush!" 

She  softly  whispered,  "Love,  I  fear 

They  may  o'erhear  thee! — darling,  hush!' 


x 
APPARENT   DEATH 

WEEP,  maiden,  o'er  the  lonely  tomb  of  Love ; 

He  died  of  nothing  who  by  chance  was  slain. 
But  is  he  truly  dead? — Ah,  that  I  dare  not  say: 

A  merest  chance  might  give  him  life  again. 


FROM   MANY  LANDS 

XI 

THE   SOLDIER'S   SOLACE 

IN  truth  no  lack  is  here  I  do  believe : 

The  bread  is  white,  the  maidens  dark  as  eve ! 

Next  night  unto  another  town  I  go : 

Black  is  the  bread,  the  maidens  white  as  snow ! 


XII 

TO   A   METAPHYSICIAN 

OVER  the  azure  sky 
Your  cobwebs  weave ; 

I  profit  by  my  life, 
Nor  stop  to  grieve. 


XIII 

THE   BOUNDARIES   OF   HUMANITY 

WHEN  the  primeval  Father, 
Changeless  and  holy, 
Sows  in  His  bounty, 
With  free  hand  and  tranquil, 
From  the  rolling  clouds, 

23 


FLOWERS   OF   SONG 

Joy-diffusing  lightnings 

O'er  the  wide  earth, 

Then  the  last  hem  of  His  garment 

I  kiss  with  childlike  awe  and  devotion  - 

My  heart  is  filled  with  His  homage. 

For  never  against  the  immortals 

May  a  mortal 

Measure  himself. 

If  heavenward  he  soar 

And  touch  with  his  forehead 

The  stars  in  their  courses, 

His  feet,  insecure, 

Shall  find  no  abiding; 

Clouds  and  tempest 

Shall  sport  with  his  weakness. 

With  limbs  firm  and  sinewy, 
Let  him  stand  without  tremor 
Upon  the  green  earth  enduring; 
Content  to  resemble  the  oak  or  the  ivy. 

How  shall  we  distinguish 
The  gods  from  men? 
Before  them  the  billows, 
An  infinite  stream, 
Roll  onward  forever; 
Us  a  wave  raises, 
Us  a  wave  swallows, 
And  we  vanish. 


FROM    MANY   LANDS 

A  little  rounded  link 
Encircles  our  life ; 
Yet  generations  of  mortals 
Weld  themselves  firmly 
To  the  unending  chain 
Of  human  existence. 


XI V 


COMPANIONSHIP 

WERE  I  in  heaven,  and  none  in  heaven  but  me, 
Not  hell  so  sad  a  dwelling-place  could  be. 


xv 

EACH   LIKES  BEST  THE  PLACE  WHEREIN 
HE   LIVES 

So  wisely  hath  the  Lord  God  framed  these  human  souls  of  ours, 
That  each  likes  best  the  place  where  he  doth  dwell : 

Ask  the  lost  spirits  where  Perdition  is,  they'll  say  in  Heaven; 
Ask  saints,  they'll  tell  you  'tis  in  Hell. 


FLOWERS   OF   SONG 

XVI 

THE   GOLDEN   AGE 

GONE  is  your  Golden  Age,  my  friend, 
Yet  good  men  can  that  age  restore ; 
Or  if  the  truth  I  now  must  speak, 
That  age  of  which  the  poets  sing 
In  rapturous  phrase  was  never  here, 
Save  as  it  is  with  us  to-day; 
Or  if  it  was,  good  men  can  still 
To-morrow  bring  that  age  again. 


XVII 

WHEN   TWO   MEN   QUARREL 

WHEN  two  men  quarrel,  each  with  tongue  aflame, 
Who  hath  the  cooler  head  is  most  to  blame. 


FROM   MANY   LANDS 

XVIII 

THE   FAVORED   BEASTS 

FOUR  beasts  by  God's  permission  came 

To  enter  heaven's  delight, 
And  there,  with  happy  saints,  to  dwell 

In  never-ending  light. 

Before  them  all  the  sacred  ass 
Doth  tread  with  joyous  stride, 

For  once  into  Jerusalem 
On  him  did  Jesus  ride. 

And  next  behold  the  timid  wolf 

To  whom  Mahomet  spake : 
"The  poor  man's  sheep  thou  shalt  not  steal, 

Thou  mayst  the  rich  man's  take." 

And  there  the  dog,  so  brave  and  leal ; 

Two  hundred  years  he  stood, 
While  seven  Ephesian  sleepers  slept 

In  holy  brotherhood. 

There  purrs  Abuherrira's  cat 

Beside  the  master  blest, 
For  holy  must  the  creature  be 

The  Prophet  hath  caressed. 


FLOWERS   OF   SONG 


THE   ILIAD 

FROM  the  sacred  brow  of  Homer 

Tear  the  laurel  wreath  of  song, 
Number  all  the  ancient  fathers 

Unto  whom  its  leaves  belong, 
Still  one  mother  owns  them  wholly ; 

Mother  Nature,  they  are  thine ! 
Thine  they  were  ere  Homer  knew  them — 

By  the  right  that  is  divine. 

SCHILLER. 


THE   FOUNTAIN   OF  YOUTH 

O  TRUST  me,  it  is  no  mere  fiction,  the  holy  fountain  of  youth ; 
In  the  sweet  song  of  the  poet  it  floweth  in  beauty  and  truth. 

SCHILLER. 


FROM   MANY    LANDS 


LILY  AND   ROSE 

LILY  of  white  innocence,  and  sweet  red  rose, 

Two  sisters  side  by  side — alike 

And  yet  how  different! 

O  flower  of  purity  and  honor's  crown, 

Thou  need'st  not  leaves  to  shield  thy  form ; 

A  silent  virtue  wreath'd  in  fragrant  beauty 

Guards  thee  well. 

But  thou,  O  flower  of  passion,  red,  red  rose, 

Young  Cupid's  blood  thy  veins  distending, 

Thy  heart  so  oft  is  pierced  by  love 

Thou  needest  thorns  around  thee. 

HERDER. 


29 


FLOWERS   OF   SONG 


SINGS   THE   BEE   UNTO   HER  SON 

SINGS  the  bee  unto  her  son, 

Yonder  waxen  taper  flee ; 
But  her  precept  and  her  prayer 

Trouble  not  the  little  bee. 

Round  and  round  the  glowing  flame 
Hums  and  sings  he  all  the  night — 

Sings  and  hums  and  hums  and  sings, 
Caring  not  for  mother's  fright. 

All  at  once,  with  boundless  rapture, 
In  the  flame  he  darts  and  cries: 

Upward  leap  the  gleaming  sparks ; 
He  in  ashes  sinks  and  dies. 

Sons  of  men,  the  lesson  learn, 
Shun  the  fire  of  maidens'  eyes; 

When  they  sparkle  with  delight, 
He  who  trusts  them  surely  dies. 


30 


FROM    MANY   LANDS 


THE   BLIND   PASSENGER1 

ALL  night  in  a  gloomy  post-chaise 

We  travelled  far  away ; 
Each  leaned  on  the  other's  bosom, 

And  happy  hearts  were  gay. 

But  soon  the  golden  morning  found  us — 

What  wonder  filled  our  eyes !  — 
Amor,  blind  passenger,  between  us, 

Looked  up  in  sweet  surprise. 

HEINE. 


THE   PALM 

DREAMS  on  the  lonely  height 

A  pine  tree  clad  in  snow; 
Around  it  icy  winds 

In  wild  confusion  blow:  — 

Dreams  of  a  graceful  palm 

In  the  far  southern  land, 
In  silent  solitude, 

Mid  wastes  of  burning  sand. 

HEINE. 


31 


FLOWERS   OF   SONG 


SOME   TO   HOLY   MARY   KNEEL 

SOME  to  Holy  Mary  kneel, 

Some  to  Paul  and  Peter; 
I  my  prayer  alone  to  thee 

Send  in  rhyme  and  metre. 

Let  my  lips  with  kisses  sweet, 

Praise  and  serve  thee  ever ; 
Fairest  maiden  'neath  the  sun, 

Spurn  my  worship  never. 

HEINE. 


WHEN   THOU   HAST   WEDDED 

WHEN  thou  hast  wedded  me,  my  love, 

Thy  joy  shall  flow  forever; 
Thou  shalt  be  happy  all  thy  days, 

And  cease  from  pleasure  never. 

I  '11  patient  be  with  ev'ry  fault, 

And  even  bear  thy  curses ; 
But,  truly,  we  must  part  if  thou 

Shouldst  e'er  deride  my  verses. 

HEINE. 


FROM    MANY   LANDS 


ON   DR.    MEAD 

WHEN  Mead  unto  the  lonely  Styx  was  come, 
With  trembling  voice  affrighted  Pluto  said : 

"Confound  him!  once  the  sightless  and  the  dumb 
He  saved,  and  now  he  would  restore  the  dead!"2 


LESSIVO. 


HUMANITY 

UNNUMBERED  years  the  hoary  earth 
Her  countless  nations  hath  enrolled, 

And  holocausts  to  gods  hath  raised 
From  blood-red  altars  manifold. 

And  years  to  come  the  raptured  saint 
To  God  shall  other  altars  rear, 

And  sorrow  still  shall  come  and  go, 
And  joy  the  human  heart  shall  cheer. 

It  blinds  me  not !  With  love  content, 
The  ceaseless  strife  of  Time  I  see ; 

While  changing  empires  rise  and  fall, 
Still  onward  moves  Humanity. 


FLOWERS   OF   SONG 

No  day  hath  ever  dawned,  I  know, 
That  gladdened  not  one  lonely  breast; 

Nor  Spring  hath  followed  Winter  drear 
But  with  a  song  the  world  it  blessed. 

From  out  the  ruddy  wine,  I  know, 

The  vast,  creative  thoughts  arise; 
And  in  a  woman's  loving  kiss 

A  noble  fount  of  vigor  lies. 

Where'er  we  go,  the  heavens,  I  know, 
They  frown  with  rage,  or  smile  with  joy; 

In  every  zone  the  stars  serene 

Some  loving  eye  with  faith  employ. 

So  day  by  day,  and  night  by  night, 
One  thought  doth  every  heart  possess ; 

Where'er  on  earth  mine  eyes  are  turned, 
A  brother's  loyal  hand  I  press. 

A  link  of  that  great  chain  which  binds 

The  future  to  the  past  am  I ; 
From  out  the  struggling  surge  I  snatch 

The  jewel  of  Humanity. 

KlNKEL. 


34- 


FROM   MANY   LANDS 


HYMN3 

IN  life  still  death  is  here, 

There  is  one  common  doom. 
Oh,  how  shall  we  prepare 
For  a  believer's  tomb  ? 
Peace  is  of  Thee  alone,  — 
Thou  only  canst  atone 
The  sins  we  grieve,  and  from  Thy  wrath 
Make  us  a  path 

To  heaven. 

O  holy  Lord  and  God! 
Eternal  Christ  of  God! 
Hear  Thou  our  faltering  breath  ! 
Spare  us  from  endless  death  ! 
Kvpie 


In  death  the  jaws  of  hell 

Against  our  spirits  gape. 
Lord  God,  wilt  Thou  not  save? 

And  grant  us  swift  escape? 
'T  is  Thou,  dear  Lord,  didst  win 
The  conquest  of  our  sin, 
And  pity  for  our  souls  obtain; 
Else  hope  were  vain 

Of  heaven. 

O  holy  Lord  and  God! 
Eternal  Christ  of  God  ! 


35 


FLOWERS   OF   SONG 

Hear  Thou  our  bitter  cry  ! 
And  save  us  e'er  we  die  ! 


In  hell's  dark  midst,  our  sin 

Would  drive  us  to  despair. 
Oh,  whither  shall  we  fly? 

Where  is  our  refuge,  where? 
Thy  blood,  O  Christ,  alone 
Can  for  our  sin  atone! 
'T  is  in  the  holy  rood  to  give 
The  grace  to  live 

For  heaven. 
O  holy  Lord  and  God! 
Eternal  Christ  of  God! 
Grant  from  Thy  faith  we  all 
May  never,  never  fall  ! 
Kupte  eXtycrov. 

MARTIN  LUTHER. 


THE  EVENING   HOUR 

ALL  day  the  restless  feet  of  eager  men, 

The  ceaseless  strife  for  gain,  and  place  and  power, 

And  then  the  gentle  darkness  cool  and  still, 
The  calm  refreshment  of  the  evening  hour. 

FROM  THE  GERMAN. 


36 


FROM   MANY   LANDS 


HUMAN   LIFE 

PERPETUAL  strife 

Is  the  life 

Of  mortal  man. 

In  the  hot  fire 

Of  pain  and  desire, 

Is  unceasingly  wrought, 

On  the  forge  of  thought, 

His  being's  end. 

Only  at  last 
Shall  the  furnace-blast, 
When  he  is  old, 
Grow  cold. 

Sweet  th'  toiler's  sleep, 
When  shadows  creep 
Through  evening  air, 
And  everywhere 
Is  rest. 

Then  shall  he  scan 

The  Master's  plan, 

Designed 

In  the  all-forming  mind 

From  the  first. 

FROM  THE  GERMAN. 


37 


FLOWERS   OF   SONG 


GERMAN   COURAGE 

THE  bards  enchanting  many  songs  have  sung 
Through  all  the  fair  sweet  German  land, 

But  dies  their  music  faint  upon  the  air, — 
The  bards  themselves  are  'neath  the  sand. 

But  while  the  silver  stars  on  high  surround 

With  wreaths  of  light  the  rolling  earth, 
Stout  German  hearts  will  sing  the  German  songs, 

And  fill  the  German  land  with  mirth. 

Though  crumbling  in  the  dust  of  time  doth  lie 

The  ancient  heroes'  house  so  grand, 
Spring  comes  through  every  gate  and  hall  to  bring 

New  charms  to  grace  the  German  land. 

And  where  in  death  the  heroes  sink  to  rest, 

Fearless  mid  battle's  deaf 'ning  rout, 
Youths  spring  undaunted  to  the  German  race, 

And  fight  the  German  battle  out. 

ElCHENDORFF. 


FROM   MANY   LANDS 


HYMN   OF  CONTRITION 

DEAR  Lord,  the  burden  of  my  guilt  is  great, 

But  greater  is  Thy  mercy  far; 
Lead  Thou  me  on  to  where  the  streams 

Of  Thy  divine  forgiveness  are. 

Accusing  conscience  bids  me  doubt, 
But  Thou  the  Lord  of  conscience  art ; 

Break  the  dark  bondage  of  the  past, 
And  heal  my  wounded  trembling  heart. 

0  now  to  Thee,  and  Thee  alone, 

Thou  bleeding  Lamb  for  sinners  slain, 

1  bring  the  guilt  that  weighs  me  down, 
Remorseful  thoughts  and  inward  pain. 

Speak  Thou  the  gracious  word  of  peace, 

And  bid  my  rising  fears  decline ; 
To  Thee  be  all  the  glory  given, 

The  endless  gladness  shall  be  mine. 

FROM  THE  GERMAN. 


39 


FLOWERS   OF   SONG 


TO   MY  PHYSICIAN 

PHYSICIAN,  cease  thine  effort ! 

I  speak  and  have  no  fear — 
Thou  canst  no  longer  save  me, 

I  know  that  Death  is  near. 

The  flowers  that  blossom  sweetly, 

In  autumn  fade  and  die; 
They  bud  and  bloom  and  perish, 

And  like  the  flowers  am  I. 

While  life  and  strength  sustain  me, 

I  'm  like  the  nightingale, 
Whose  glad  notes  wake  the  echo 

Through  forest,  hill,  and  dale. 

Shall  I,  at  Death  affrighted, 

Complain  that  he  is  nigh ; 
Or  flee  his  dart  in  terror, 

Who  says  that  I  must  die  ? 

Full  well  I  know  the  marksman, — 

All  robed  in  steel  is  he, — 
And  naught  can  change  his  arrow, 

Since  he  hath  chosen  me. 

Physician,  cease  thy  striving ! 

I  tremble  not  with  fear — 
Thou  canst  not  save  me  longer, 

Since  Death  the  Tyrant 's  here. 

ELIZABETH  KULMANN. 

40 


FROM   MANY   LANDS 


REMEMBRANCE 

I  THINK  of  thee 

In  dreamy  bowers, 
Where  singing  birds 

Make  sweet  the  hours ; 
When  think'st  of  me  ? 

I  think  of  thee 

By  fountains  deep, 
When  twilight  fills 

The  earth  with  sleep; 
Where  think'st  of  me  ? 

I  think  of  thee 

With  sweetest  pain; 
And  anxious  tears 

I  shed  like  rain; 
How  think'st  of  me  ? 

Oh,  think  of  me 

Till  we  are  one 
On  some  sweet  star! 

Beyond  the  sun 
I  '11  think  of  thee. 

MATTHISSOX. 


41 


FLOWERS   OF   SONG 


SPIRITUAL   EPIGRAMS 


AH,  yes !  I  would  a  phoenix  be, 
And  burn  my  heart  in  Deity ! 
There  should  I  dwell  by  His  dear  side, 
And  in  the  self  of  God  abide. 


ii 

I  DO  believe  there  is  no  death ; 

Though  every  hour  I  die, 
Yet  every  hour,  with  new  delight, 

A  better  life  draws  nigh. 

in 

I  HOLD  that  since  by  death  alone 
God  bids  my  soul  go  free, 

In  death  a  richer  blessing  is 
Than  all  the  world  to  me. 


IV 

THE  cross  of  Golgotha  can  never  save 

Thy  soul  from  deepest  hell, 
Unless  with  loving  faith  thou  sett'st  it  up 

Within  thy  heart  as  well. 


FROM    MANY   LANDS 


OUT  from  thyself,  thyself  depart ; 
God  then  shall  fill  thine  empty  heart : 
Cast  from  thy  soul  life's  selfish  dream  — 
In  flows  the  Godhead's  living  stream. 

VI 

WHO  loves,  no  law  can  ever  bind ; 

He  'd  cleave  to  God  as  well, 
Were  there  no  golden  heaven's  reward, 

And  no  dark  cave  of  hell. 

VII 

O  WONDERFUL  is  God  i  He  wills  whate'er  He  is, 

And  is  whate'er  He  wills — 

The  whirling  bliss  goes  round,  and  round,  and  ever 
round, 

And  all  His  fulness  fills. 


How  far  away  is  Heaven?  Not  far,  my  friend; 
One  earnest  step  will  all  thy  journey  end. 

IX 

ON  me  God's  Spirit  falls  like  dew  upon  a  rose, 
When  I  to  Him  my  heart,  like  that  sweet  flower, 
unclose. 

ANGEU-S  SII.ESIUS:  "THE  CHERUBIC  WANDERER."* 

43 


FLOWERS   OF   SONG 


THE   COST   OF  PROSECUTION 

THE  judge  wants  money,  and  the  lawyer  too, 
And  when  the  long-protracted  case  is  through, 
There  '11  not  a  franc  be  left,  my  friend,  for  you — 
A  franc? — they'll  leave  you  not  a  sou. 

FROM  THE  FRENCH. 


ADIEU 

ADIEU  !  adieu,  thou  fair  and  cruel  one ! 

T  is  done,  thy  scorn  I  little  reck ! 
I  haste  me  now  love's  burning  grief  to  quench — 

To  hang? — Yes,  round  another's  neck. 

FROM  THE  FRENCH. 


•  FROM   MANY   LANDS 


WOMAN'S   SWORD 

THE  tongue  is  woman's  sword,  and  to  it  she  doth  trust; 
By  constant  use  she  keeps  it  always  free  from  rust ; 
Deep  in  the  heart  of  man  she  sheathes  its  glittering  blade ; 
And,  lo !  the  mighty  hero  falls  before  a  timid  maid. 

FROM  THE  FRENCH. 


FRENCH   PROVERB 

WOULD  you  surprise  the  timid  ?  Then  be  dumb ; 
Hares  are  not  caught  with  the  sound  of  a  drum. 


45 


FLOWERS   OF   SONG 


THE   HOPELESSNESS   OF   FOLLY 

THE  most  egregious  dunce  send  thou  to  any  school, 
And  after  all  he  11  still  remain  a  stupid  fool. 


FROM  THE  FRENCH. 


THE   LAST   WORDS   OF   RABELAIS 

WITH  scornful  laugh  at  length  the  master  cried, 
"I  haste  me  to  the  Great  Perhaps,"  and  died.5 


FROM  THE  FRENCH. 


46 


FROM    MANY   LANDS 


FAITH 

BE  like  the  little  bird 

That  for  an  instant  stays 
Upon  the  topmost  bough : 

The  branch  beneath  him  sways, 
But  undisturbed  he  sings, 

All  conscious  of  his  wings. 

VICTOR  HUGO. 


THE   HAPPY   MAN 

BEHOLD  !  on  all  the  earth 
A  happy  man  is  he, 
To  whom,  with  vision  clear, 
From  the  deep  wells  of  truth 
Th'  eternal  good  proceeds. 
From  off  his  mind  the  shades 
Like  mountain  mists  dissolve; 
From  fables  hoar  with  age, 
To  him  rich  treasures  come; 
The  path  to  heaven  he  treads, 
And  leads  with  gentle  hand 
Our  willing  souls  to  God. 

FROM  KIXG  ALFRED'S  METRES  OF  BOETHIUS. 


FLOWERS   OF   SONG 


THE   WHISTLING  DAUGHTER 

WHISTLE,  my  dearest  daughter,  and  I  will  give  thee  a  cow. 
Ah  no!  my  beloved  mother,  I  cannot  whistle  now — 

O  I  cannot  whistle, 
Ah  no !  my  mouth  it  puckers  so. 

Whistle,  my  charming  daughter,  and  I  will  give  thee  a  horse. 
Mother,  I  never  whistled,  and  I  could  not  now  of  course — 

O  I  cannot  whistle, 
Ah  no !  my  mouth  it  puckers  so. 

Whistle,  my  gentle  daughter,  and  I  will  give  thee  a  sheep. 
Mother,  I  cannot  whistle,  so  the  creature  you  may  keep — 

O  I  cannot  whistle, 
Ah  no !  my  mouth  it  puckers  so. 

Whistle,  my  lovely  daughter,  and  I  will  give  thee  a  man. 
Mother,  I  never  whistled,  but  I  know  right  well  I  can— 

Whistle!  whistle!  whistle! 
And  so  the  whistling  soon  began.6 

FROM  THE  DUTCH. 


48 


FROM    MANY  LANDS 


EPITAPH   ON   AGNES   SOREL7 

ENTOMBED  here  the  fairest  Agnes  silent  lies: 

More  praise  to  her  rare  beauty  be 
Than  holy  maids  receive  that  dwell  apart  for  heaven, 

Or  hermits  that  to  deserts  flee ! 
Her  radiant  loveliness  uplifted  noble  France; 
Our  chains  fell  off,  and  Freedom  triumphed  in  her  glance. 

FRANCIS 


THE   ASS   AND   THE   FLUTE 

THIS  is  a  fable 

You  11  read  at  a  glance ; 
It  shows  what  may  come 

From  nothing  but  chance. 

There  roamed  in  a  field, 
Quite  near  to  the  manse, 

An  ass  that  had  come 
That  way  by  a  chance. 

He  followed  his  nose 
With  pompous  advance, 

And  came  on  a  flute 
Left  there  by  a  chance. 


49 


FLOWERS   OF   SONG 

The  brute  started  back, 

And  gave  it  a  glance ; 
Then  softly  drew  near, 

And  snorted  by  chance. 

The  breath  entered  in, 

His  soul  to  entrance ; 
For — great  his  surprise — 

He  blew  it  by  chance. 

He  cried  as  he  viewed 

The  flute  in  the  grass : 
"Now  who  shall  deride 

The  skill  of  an  ass?" 

Asses  are  many 

In  life  and  romance, 
Who  once  in  a  while 

Succeed  by  a  chance. 

TOMAS  DE  YRIARTE. 


50 


FROM   MANY   LANDS 


A   REVELLER   IN  THE   INN   OF   LIFE 

THROUGH  all  the  inn  a  voice  cried,  "Haste!" 

And  every  scamp  was  up  at  once ; 
There  was  one  wretched  fool  so  drunk, 

And  such  a  witless,  hopeless  dunce, 
He  could  not  stir  a  limb  to  bear  him  hence ; 

The  rest  all  fled  and  perished  by  the  foe, 
'Twas  he  alone  survived  who  made  no  flight, 

Nor  sought  to  hide  from  what  he  could  not  know. 

I  may  be  drunk,  I  may  be  fool  or  worse 

In  this  poor  inn  that  men  call  Human  Life, 
But  know  I  will  not  stir  from  where  I  sip  my  wine 

To  die  for  naught  in  an  unequal  strife. 
Cry  through  the  inn,  thou  Voice  discordant,  cry ! 

I  laugh  and  drink  and  slumber  still; 
A  dreamy  dulness  binds  me  life  and  limb, 

And  seals  the  eyelids  of  my  drowsy  will. 

FROM  THE  SPANISH. 


51 


FLOWERS   OF   SONG 


SPANISH   PROVERBS 


THROUGH  the  street  of  By-and-by,  journeying  forever, 
Slowly  one  comes  at  last  to  the  house  of  Never. 

ii 

MAN  is  fire  and  woman  tow, — 
The  devil  knows  just  when  to  blow. 


FROM   MANY   LANDS 


SONG   OF   THE   WANDERING   KNIGHT 

MY  ornaments  are  sword  and  spear, 

War  is  my  pleasure  near  and  far, 
My  bed  the  cold  green  turf  alone, 

My  quenchless  lamp  yon  trembling  star. 

Long  are  my  journeys  through  the  day, 
Brief  are  my  slumbers  in  the  night ; 

Thy  spirit  haunts  me  as  I  go ; 
I  kiss  thy  token  with  delight. 

From  land  to  land  I  swiftly  ride, 

And  ever  sail  from  sea  to  sea ; 
And  trust,  fair  lady,  fate  some  day 

May  bid  these  knightly  lips  kiss  thee. 

FROM  THE  SPANISH. 


GOD  sees  me  though  I  see  Him  not ; 
I  know  I  shall  not  be  forgot, 
For  though  I  be  the  smallest  dot, 
It  is  His  mercy  shapes  my  lot. 

FROM  THE  SCANDINAVIAN. 


53 


FLOWERS   OF   SONG 


'T  is  the  Almighty's  gracious  plan, 
That  man  should  be  the  joy  of  man. 

FROM  THE  SCANDINAVIAN. 


ON  MICHAEL   ANGELO'S   STATUE   OF  NIGHT8 

LINES    BY    GIOVANNI    STROZZI 

THOU  seest  the  sleeping  Night  in  grace  reclining, 
An  angel  called  her  from  the  silent  stone; 

She  sleeps  and  therefore  lives ;  if  doubt  there  be, 
Awake  her  now — She  speaks!  and  doubt  is  flown. 


ANSWER    BY    MICHAEL   ANGELO 

'T  is  sweet  to  sleep,  but  better  far  in  stone, 
For  since,  unaltered,  loss  and  shame  remain, 

Unconscious  darkness  crowns  supreme  delight; 
Speak  low,  I  pray  thee,  wake  me  not  to  pain. 

FROM  THE  ITALIAN. 


FROM   MANY   LANDS 


TO   A   FALSE   LADY 

WHEN  softly  gathered  twilight  o'er  the  silent  air, 
And  out  from  darkness  rose  the  first  bright  star, 

A  gentle  lady  came  my  solitude  to  share. 

I  seemed  to  know  her ;  and  she  was  so  heav'nly  fair 
That,  gazing,  I  was  hers;  and  near  or  far, 
To  honor  her,  I  followed  where  she  went :  and  then — 
Ah  well!  I  only  pray:  "God  give  thee,  when 
Thou  art  as  I  remain,  the  same  sad  plight 
With  which  thou  didst  unchanging  love  requite." 

FROM  THE  ITALIAN. 


55 


FLOWERS   OF   SONG 


THE   ONLY  PLACE   OF   REST 

THERE  is  no  place  where  I  may  dwell 

And  be  at  rest, 

But  on  Thy  breast. 
O'er  all  the  world  sin's  fatal  spell 

Breathes  shame  and  woe. 

Where'er  I  go, 

'T  is  always  so, 

That  if  I  tarry  not  with  Thee 
I  nothing  have,  I  nothing  see 

But  tears  and  fears, 

And  pain  and  bane, 
And  war's  rude  clamor  wild  and  fierce. 

To  Thee,  dear  Lord,  I  swiftly  fly, 

Thine  open  arms  me  welcome  give ; 
Without  Thy  dear  embrace  I  die, 

But  in  Thy  keeping  love  I  live. 

When  night  and  darkness  terror  bring, 
As  flies  the  bird,  so  swift  of  wing, 
To  the  green  shelter  of  some  tree, 
Doth  haste  my  trembling  soul  to  Thee, 
For  only  on  my  Saviour's  breast 
Is  rest. 

FROM  THE  ITALIAN. 


56 


FROM  MANY  LANDS 


CHRISTMAS  CAROL 

WHEN  Christ  in  Bethlehem  was  born, 

The  winter  night  seemed  rosy  morn; 

So  bright  the  stars  men  thought  'twas  day — 

The  world  in  golden  beauty  lay ; 

And  yet  one  star  in  splendor  there, 

Than  all  the  rest  more  heavenly  fair, 

The  Magi  to  the  manger  drew. 

Then  holy  peace  o'er  all  the  earth, 

Proclaimed  the  blessed  Saviour's  birth ; 

Together  lamb  and  lion  fed ; 

Calf,  wolf,  and  bear  were  gently  led 

By  little  children ;  leopards  lay 

Beside  the  timid  kids  all  day ; 

There,  fangless,  basked  the  serpents  too. 

As  shepherds  watched  their  flocks  by  night, 

Bright  angels  from  the  world  of  light, 

With  music  filled  the  trembling  air, 

And  God  himself  seemed  everywhere. 

"Be  not  afraid,"  they  cried,  "for  see! 

It  is  God's  holy  Jubilee, 

With  peace  on  earth,  good  will  to  you!" 

FROM  THE  ITAI.IAX. 


57 


FLOWERS   OF   SONG 


THE   CARDINALS 

O  YE  Cardinals !  if  ye  have  honest  souls, 

Speak  to  His  Holiness  in  the  Vatican, 
And  say:  "There  be  many  Princes  of  the  Church, 

And  lo,  among  them  all  is  found  not  one  man." 

They  be  like  to  lobsters,  robes  and  faces  red, — 

That 's  to  say,  when  lobsters  are  well  boil'd ;  and  yet 

While  living,  backward  through  dingy  night  they  crawl, 
To  tangle  the  meshes  of  Saint  Peter's  net. 

FRANCESCO  DALL'  ONGARO. 


IMMORTAL   YOUTH 

MY  two-and-sixty  years  are  flown, 

Swift  years  of  sorrow  and  delight, 
And  now  my  hair,  no  longer  black, 

Is  turned  at  last  a  silvery  white ; 
But  ah,  my  heart  still  young  remains, 

Unchanged  by  fortune  foul  or  fair ; 
And  spite  of  frost  and  snow,  I  see 

The  golden  summer  everywhere. 

KHUSHHAI,  KHAN  OF  THE  AFGHAN  TRIBE  OF  KHATTAK. 


58 


FROM   MANY   LANDS 


THE    LIFE  OF   MAN    IS   AS   THE   DUST 

WHAT  are  human  hopes  and  fears? 

Why  is  thy  heart  elated  or  depressed  ? 

The  dust  beneath  thy  feet  was  once  alive, 

And  shall  live  many  times  again. 

The  wind  has  flown, 

The  dust  is  scattered, 

But  the  stream  flows  on. 

Man  is  as  the  wind, 

And  life  is  like  the  dust, 

While  on  forever  flows  the  stream  of  time. 

KHUSHHAL  KHAN  OF  THE  AFGHAN  TRIBE  or  KHATTAK. 


MISGUIDED   CHARITY 

ALONG  the  dusty  road  for  food  a  lazy  beggar  sought ; 

A  cucumber  to  him  a  tender-hearted  stranger  gave; 
"  'T  is  crooked,"  cried  the  graceless  rogue,  and  cast  it  in  the  ditch ; 

"  I  would  not  eat  the  shapeless  thing  my  worthy  life  to  save." 

TURKISH  SAYING. 


FLOWERS   OF   SONG 


TURKISH   PROVERB 

MEN  catch  fine  fish,  but,  if  we  judge  from  what  they  say, 
That  always  is  the  largest  fish  that  swims  away. 


ON   HOLBEIN'S   HALF-LENGTH   PORTRAIT 
OF  ERASMUS 

BUT  half  the  mighty  sage  this  canvas  shows, 
Whom  all  the  world  with  loving  reverence  knows ; 
Why  shows  it  not  the  whole  ?  Surprise  refrain, 
Him  the  wide  earth  could  never  quite  contain. 

FROM  THE  LATIN  OF  THEODORE  BEZA. 


ON  A   FLY   ENGRAVED   IN   A   GOLDEN 
DRINKING-CUP 

IN  golden  cup  of  sparkling  wine 

I  drew  my  latest  breath : 
How  could  I  ask  a  nobler  tomb, 

Or  crave  a  sweeter  death  ? 

CUNRADINUS.9 


60 


FROM   MANY   LANDS 


THE   PRIEST  AND   THE   THIEF 

BESIDE  a  thief  condemned  there  walked  a  pious  priest, 

Who  near  the  gallows  spake  in  solemn  tone: 
"Thy  grief  repress;  have  faith  that  with  the  angels  thou  shalt 
feast." 

Oppressed  with  fear,  the  wretched  thief  did  groan: 
"If  it  be  true,  most  holy  father,  be  the  honor  thine— 

Take  thou  my  place  beside  the  festal  board,  I  pray ! " 
"  Nay,  nay,"  the  priest  replied ;  "my  selfish  nature  would  incline, 

But  sacred  vows  forbid — this  is  my  fasting  day!" 

GEOHGIUS  SALINUS. 


TRANSUBSTANTIATION 10 

IF  it  be  possible  with  "hoc  est  corpus  meum," 

The  Lord  of  glory  into  bread  to  change, 
That  sinful  men  with  cruel  teeth  should  dare  to  pierce  Him, 

Of  all  things  seems  the  strangest  of  the  strange. 

FROM  LATIN  OF  THE  FIFFEENTH  CENTURY. 


FLOWERS   OF   SONG 


BALAAM'S   ASS 

BALAAM'S  ass  beheld  the  shining  angel  stand 
With  flaming  sword  his  path  before ; 

The  prophet,  blinded  by  his  sinful  heart, 
Saw  but  the  ass  and  nothing  more. 

FROM  LATIN  OF  THE  FIFTEENTH  CENTURY. 


AD   MINISTRUM11 

THE  Persian  garlands  please  me  not. 
Nor  chaplets  tied  with  linden-rind ; 

Then  ask  no  more  where  dwells  the  rose, 
In  wreaths  around  the  head  to  bind. 

Add  naught  to  simple  myrtle  leaves ; 

No  roses  in  the  hair  entwine ; 
The  myrtle  crown  becomes  me  well, 

And  suits  me  quaffing  'neath  the  vine. 

HORACE,  LIBER  1,  ODE 


FROM   MANY   LANDS 


SOCRATES 

GREAT  Socrates,  the  wisest  and  the  best  of  men, 

Was  not  ashamed  that  Alcibiades  of  old 
Should  find  him  with  the  children,  and  astride  a  stick, 

Or  wild  with  noisy  sport  as  in  the  dust  he  rolled. 

LATIN  ANTHOLOGY. 


FOOLISH   WORDS 

WHAT  women  to  their  lovers  say  I  count  an  idle  dream, 
Well  written  on  the  passing  wind  and  on  the  flowing  stream. 

CATULLUS. 


FLOWERS   OF   SONG 


EPIGRAMS   FROM   MARTIAL 

i 
IMPROMPTU   VERSES 

OH  why,  my  Stella,  so  severe  a  task? 
Impromptu  verses  at  the  feast  you  ask : 
But  since  you  thus  insist  I  must  comply, 
And  if  they're  poor  you  know  the  reason  why. 


ii 
• 
TO   AVITUS 

OF  all  these  epigrams  a  few  are  good, 
And  some  are  fair,  and  others  bad ; 

No  other  way,  my  dear  Avitus,  could 
So  large  a  book  as  this  be  had. 


FROM   MANY   LANDS 

in 
TO   AFRICANUS 

IN  gold  and  silver  Africanus  rolls, 

And  seeks  for  more  from  rise  to  set  of  sun : 

To  some  great  Fortune  gives  too  much ;  alas ! 
That  wayward  goddess  gives  enough  to  none. 


IV 

TO   PELLA 

SEND  not  fresh  roses  by  the  morning  breezes  fanned, 
But  roses  that  have  known  the  pressure  of  your  hand. 


ON   SOME    SCULPTURED   FISH 

BEHOLD  those  fish  by  Phidias  made,  in  yonder  marble  rim ; 
So  perfect  are  they  should  you  give  them  water  they  would 
swim. 


65 


FLOWERS   OF   SONG 

VI 

THE   COOK 

'T  is  not  enough  to  have  the  art 

Savory  dishes  to  prepare ; 
The  cook  must  know  his  master's  heart, 

His  ev'ry  wish  and  taste  must  share. 


VII 

AN    INSECT   IN   AMBER12 

UPON  an  unsuspecting  ant  a  drop  of  amber  fell, 
When,  lo !  the  insect  we  so  oft  despise, 

Is  changed,  as  by  a  sudden  stroke  of  light,  into  a  gem 
We  more  than  gold  of  Ophir  seek  and  prize. 


VIII 

TO   PONTICUS 

You  maim  your  slave,  and,  fired  with  rage,  his  honest  tongue 

cut  out; 
But  what  he  can  no  longer  whisper,  all  the  neighbors  shout. 


66 


FROM   MANY   LANDS 

IX 

ON   QUINTUS 

"QuiNTUS  loves  Thais"— what!— that  squint-eyed,  one-eyed 
girl? 

By  mighty  Jove,  the  fellow's  far  more  blind  than  she! 
For  Thais  wants  one  eye,  but  Quintus — he  wants  two: 

His  foolish  love  for  Thais  proves  he  cannot  see. 


x 
TO   ^ERNITIANUS 

ART  poor?  Alas!  I  fear  thou  'It  ever  thus  remain, 
For  riches  to  the  rich  are  giv'n,  and  gifts  for  gain. 


XI 

ON  FABULLUS13 

SWEET  the  fragrance — much  it  pleased  me, 

But  I  nothing  had  to  eat ; 
He  is  like  a  corpse,  anointed, 

Who  hath  perfume  for  his  meat. 


67 


FLOWERS   OF   SONG 


AN   ORACLE   OF   THE  PYTHIAN   PRIESTESS 

ENTER  with  holy  heart  the  pure  God's  temple  now; 
But  touch  the  virgin  water,  clean  art  thou ; 
A  single  drop  the  pure  will  cleanse — not  all  the  sea 
From  sin  can  wash  the  guilty  conscience  free. 

FROM  THE  GREEK. 


THE   WHITE   COWS   TO   MARCUS 

THE  white  cows  Marcus  Caesar  hail  with  heavy  sigh, 
And  say,  "Alas!  when  thou  hast  conquered  we  must  die." 

FROM  THE  GREEK. 


68 


FROM  MANY  LANDS 


MORTALITY 

THOU  art  a  mortal  man  by  human  frailty  girt, 
T  is  this  the  sum  of  wise  philosophy  to  learn ; 

To-day  thou  rul'st  a  mighty  empire  with  thy  frown,— 
To-morrow,  crownless,  shalt  thou  fill  the  funeral  urn. 

MENANDEH. 


THE  BEST   COUNTRY 

THAT  is  the  best  of  all  countries,  where 
One  lives  with  the  least  trouble  and  care. 

ARISTOPHANES. 


FLOWERS   OF   SONG 


THE   NOBLEST   GIFT 

A  MIND  from  every  evil  thought  set  free, 
I  count  the  noblest  gift  of  Deity. 

.(ESCHYLCS. 


CURES   FOR   LOVE15 

SHARP  pangs  of  hunger  may  love's  raging  fever  cure, 

Or  years  of  absence  passion's  fury  alter ; 
But  if  the  flame  burn  on  thou  canst  no  more  endure, 

Why,  friend,  I  do  advise  thee  buy  a  halter. 

CRATES  OF  THEBES. 


70 


FROM   MANY   LANDS 


A   GREEK  EPITAPH 

DELICIOUS  wines  with  fragrant  baths  and  love, 
More  sweet  than  honey  are  to  mortal  taste ; 

But  o'er  the  road  to  Hades,  deep  and  dark, 

Onward  by  day  and  night  man's  soul  they  haste. 


EPITAPH   FOR  TIMON   THE  MISANTHROPE 

I  WARN  thee,  passing  stranger,  come  not  near  this  fatal  tomb! 
Sharp  stakes  and  thorns  conceal  them  where  deceitful  roses 

bloom ! 

I,  Timon,  hater  of  mankind,  dissolved  in  dust,  still  cry: 
"I  curse  thee,  whosoe'er  thou  art:  Curse  me,  and  then  go  by." 

HEGESIPPUS. 


71 


FLOWERS   OF   SONG 


EARTH   TO   EARTH 

FROM  clay  I  sprang,  and  Death  shall  yet  command : 
"Go,  silent  dust,  and  under  clay  recline!" 

So  all  I  ask  of  mortal  man  is  this,  — 

A  simple  cup  of  clay  and  bright  red  wine. 

DlODORUS   ZONAS. 


THE   FLIGHT   OF   TIME 

UNTO  the  happy  one  life's  golden  hours  are  swift  and  brief, 
But  longer  than  eternity 's  a  night  to  one  in  grief.16 

FROM  THE  GREEK. 


FROM  MANY  LANDS 


APHRODITE 

PARIS  has  seen  me  naked,  Anchises  and  Adonis  too, 

But  when  did  the  great  Praxiteles  my  undraped  beauty  view? 

GREEK  ANTHOLOGY. 


THE   USELESSNESS   OF   LABOR 

FROM  out  the  earth  I  naked  sprang, 

Thus  to  the  earth  I  go ; 
And  since  at  last  I  nothing  have, 

Why  should  I  labor  so? 

PALLADAS. 


73 


FLOWERS   OF   SONG 


THE   GIFT   OF   THE   MUSES 

WITH  old  Herodotus  one  day  the  Muses  came  to  dine; 

And  when  they  left  th'  historian's  board  all  gay  with  sparkling 

wine, 

They  gave  him — 'twas  a  priceless  gift  from  the  immortal  Nine— 
The  peerless  books  that  evermore  his  name  with  theirs  enshrine. 

FROM  THE  GREEK. 


ON   THOSE   WHO   FELL   AT   THERMOPYLAE 

GREAT  glory  thus  it  is  to  bravely  die 
Upon  thy  holy  field,  Thermopylae: 
Above  our  dust  an  altar  rear  divine, 
Since  sacred  Greece  and  Liberty  are  thine. 

GREEK  EPITAPH. 


FROM   MANY   LANDS 


PLATO'S   EPITAPH 

HERE  rests  the  sacred  Plato's  silent  dust ; 
With  godlike  heroes  dwells  his  soul,  we  trust. 

SPEUSIPPUS. 


LOVE   IN   OLD   AGE17 

LET  others  boast  of  charms  divine, 

The  agile  step  and  graceful  air; 
More  lovely  is  thy  wrinkled  face, 

And  threads  of  silver  in  thy  hair. 

I  'd  rather  fold  thee  in  my  arms 

Than  press  the  sweetest  maid  that  lives ; 

Thy  winter  brings  more  warmth  of  love 
Than  all  her  youthful  summer  gives. 

PAULCS  SILENTIARU 


75 


FLOWERS   OF   SONG 


EVERY  MAN   FOR  HIMSELF 

LET  all  the  world, 
To  ruin  hurled, 
Be  wrapped  in  fire 
When  I  expire. 

GREEK  ANTHOLOGY. 


EPITAPH   FOR  THE   SIBYL   HEROPHILE 

DRAW  near  and  view  the  tomb  where  moulders  now 
A  Sibyl  once  inspired  with  voice  divine ; 

Relentless  Fate  hath  choked  that  voice  with  dust, 
Yet  near  the  sculptured  Nymphs  she  doth  recline, 

And  where  the  marble  Hermes  all  the  day 

Holds  sacred  ward  above  the  virgin  clay.18 

FROM  THE  GREEK. 


76 


FROM   MANY   LANDS 


AFTER   THE   FEAST 

WHEN  we  the  flowing  bowl  at  evening  drain, 
A  kindly  human  feeling  cheers  the  feast; 

But  when  comes  round  the  morning  hour  again, 
Each  genial  friend  becomes  a  raging  beast, 

AUTOMEDON. 


HOMERIC   COUPLET 

ASKED  and  unasked,  thy  heavenly  gifts  unfold ! 
And  evil,  though  we  ask  it,  Lord,  withhold. 


77 


FLOWERS   OF   SONG 


GREEK  EPIGRAM 

IF  it  were  true,  as  some  have  boldly  said, 
That  in  the  grave  the  wise  and  mighty  dead 
Have  sense  and  knowledge  sacred  things  to  seize, 
I  'd  hang  myself  to  see  Euripides. 


TRUE   RICHES 

FAR  richer  he  who  dines  on  simple  herbs, 

And  knows  the  sweet  delight  of  perfect  health, 

Than  knaves  and  fools  who  sip  their  crystal  wines, 
And  trust  the  glitter  of  deceitful  wealth. 

HESIOD. 


78 


FROM   MANY   LANDS 

GREEK   EPITAPHS 

i 

I,  DIONYSIUS  of  Tarsus,  lie  here  after  a  long  and  weary  lot; 
I  never  married,  and  I  swear  't  were  better  had  my  father  not. 


AFTER  eating,  drinking,  and  living  all  my  wicked  life, 
Here  I,  Timocreon  of  Rhodes,  now  rest  from  further  strife. 


79 


FLOWERS   OF   SONG 


CONSCIENCE 

HONEST  men  to  law  will  never  go ; 
Conscience  is  the  only  court  they  know. 

ANTIPHANES. 


THE   DEADLY  PRESENCE 

No  fatal  herb  to  Aristagoras  did  Agis  giye, 
He  merely  entered  and  his  host  was  dead. 

Ye  coffin-makers,  pelt  this  living  aconite  with  flowers; 
With  rosy  chaplets  crown  his  mighty  head. 

HEDYLUS. 


80 


FROM  MANY  LANDS 


THE  COMMON  DOOM 

HERE  lies  a  sailor — there  a  ploughman  rests; 
One  common  doom  the  sea  and  land  invests. 


PLATO  THE  PHILOSOPHER. 


UNDER  A   WINGED   CUPID 

'T  is  vain  to  haste  when  Love  pursues, 

He  is  so  nimble  and  so  fleet; 
He  darts  like  lightning  through  the  air, 

For  he  has  wings, — thou,  only  feet. 

FROM  THE  GREEK 


81 


FLOWERS   OF   SONG 


INSCRIPTION   OVER  A   TEMPLE 

OF  chastity  let  him  who  enters  here  be  sure ; 

And  he  alone  is  chaste  whose  secret  thoughts  are  pure. 

GREEK  ANTHOLOGY. 


TO   A   MURDERER 

IN  vain  you  hide  my  bleeding  corse  from  human  sight, 
Since  God  beholds  you  through  the  darkness  of  the  night. 

GREEK  ANTHOLOGY. 


FROM   MANY   LANDS 


DIOGENES 

A  STAFF,  and  a  scrip,  and  garment  folded  twice, 
Were  the  light  load  of  Diogenes  the  wise. 

LEONTDAS. 


ARISTOPHANES 

THE  Graces  sought  a  sacred  shrine, 

For  songs  of  love  and  peace ; 
And,  lo !  they  found  it  in  the  soul 

Of  Aristophanes. 

GREEK  ANTHOLOGY. 


83 


FLOWERS   OF   SONG 


ENVY 

ENVY  with  deadly  sting  her  own  base  self  destroys; 
The  sight  of  others  happy,  is  the  poison  she  employs. 

GREEK  AJTTHOLOGY. 


COUNSEL 

SLOW-FOOTED  counsel  with  true  wisdom  rings; 
Advice  that 's  swiftly  giv'n  repentance  brings. 

LUCIAN. 


THE   MISER'S   GRIEF 

THE  miser  wept,  but  not  because  he  feared  the  grave; 
'T  was  that  he  would  the  money  for  his  coffin  save. 

NlCARCHUS. 


FROM  MANY  LANDS 


EQUALITY  IN  THE  GRAVE 

MANES  when  living  was  a  humble  slave, 

But  Death  hath  crown'd  his  brow ; 
And  in  the  grave,  great  king  Darius,  know 

That  slave 's  as  great  as  thou. 

ANYTE  OF  TEGEA. 


LAIS   DEDICATES   HER   MIRROR   TO   VENUS 

ONCE  at  Greece  proud  Lais  mocked,— 

With  gay  lovers  laughed  all  day; 
Now  these  lovers  come  no  more, 

Mirth  and  song  are  passed  away. 
Venus,  take  this  glass  from  me, 

Since  I  old  and  wrinkled  grow; 
What  I  am  I  would  not  see, 

What  I  shall  be  would  not  know. 

PLATO  THE  PHILOSOPHER. 


85 


FLOWERS   OF   SONG 


THE   TYRIAN   LANDSCAPE 

FURROWS  the  calm  main 

The  Tyrian  sailor  with  his  oar, 

And  the  ploughman,  the  green  soil 

By  the  sylvan  shore. 

The  lowing  of  the  oxen, 

And  the  bird-song  sweet  and  free, 

Answer  the  deep  roar 

Of  the  tideless  sea. 

Under  green  boughs 

The  wood-nymph,  reclining, 

Hears  the  voice  of  the  sea-nymph, 

In  love-songs  repining. 

The  breezes  from  Lebanon, 

Laden  with  perfume, 

The  tree-tops  caress, 

And  their  journey  resume ; 

Fanning  the  cheek  of  the  rustic, 

Weary  with  labor  at  midday, 

And  speeding  white  sails 

As  they  glide  far  away. 

NONNUS. 


86 


FROM   MANY   LANDS 


RICHES   ACQUIRED   IN   OLD   AGE 

WANT  and  hunger  curs'd  my  youth, 

Sixty  brings  me  wealth  and  fame; 
Miserable  lots  are  both, — 

Either  way  it  is  the  same : 
Now  that  I  have  golden  treasure, 
I  Ve  nor  heart  nor  taste  for  pleasure,— 

When  I  could  have  known  delight, 

I  was  in  a  sorry  plight. 

FROM  THE  GREEK. 


87 


FLOWERS   OF   SONG 


THE   STUPID   BRAHMIN 

THE  heavenly  gods  on  Devasarman  smiled, 

And  gave  him  rice  the  holy  feast  to  keep ; 
Unto  a  potter's  shop  he  fled  and  there, 

His  rice  beside,  the  Brahmin  fell  asleep. 
The  plate  to  shield  from  hungry  dog  and  thief, 

A  stick  he  held  within  his  lazy  hand ; 
And,  slumber  folding  all  his  soul  in  dreams, 

His  future  life  from  year  to  year  he  planned : 
"This  plate  of  rice  ten  cowries  it  shall  bring, 

And  I  will  buy  me  pots  and  kettles  rare, 
And  these  I  '11  change  for  betel-nuts  and  dress 

Till  I  shall  roll  in  wealth  beyond  compare. 
Four  wives  I  '11  marry — lovely  women  all, 

And  on  the  youngest  shall  my  gold  descend ; 
The  three,  with  hatred  moved,  will  quarrel  make, 

And  with  this  stick  I'll  cause  their  wrath  to  end." 

The  growing  thought  his  drowsy  soul  possessed — 

He  seized  the  staff,  and  round  and  round  it  flew ; 
The  plate  of  rice  in  fragments  fell  apart, 

And  pots  and  kettles  old  and  new. 
The  master  heard  the  din — in  breathless  rage  he  ran, 

The  stupid  Brahmin  seized  and  thrashed  him  well. 
The  dream  was  gone,  the  plate  of  rice  and  all, 

And  in  a  swoon  the  stupid  Brahmin  fell. 


88 


FROM    MANY   LANDS 

Ye  sons  of  men,  the  useful  lesson  learn : 

Who  wisely  lives  the  present  moment  serves, 

And  he  who  spends  his  strength  in  idle  dreams 
The  stupid  Brahmin's  hapless  fate  deserves. 

FROM  THE  HITOPADKSJ 


89 


FLOWERS   OF   SONG 


SANSCRIT   COUPLETS 


SPEAK  no  word  thy  secret  heart  denies; 
With  his  tongue  he  slays  his  soul  who  lies. 


ii 

MORE  fragrant  is  the  ancient  sandal-tree, 
And  wiser  seems  the  aged  man  to  me. 


in 

As  running  water  cleanseth  bodies  dropped  therein, 

So  heavenly  truth  doth  cleanse  the  secret  heart  from  sin. 


IV 

NEVER  rejoice,  O  friend,  at  the  death  of  a  foe ; 
Swiftly  thy  life  to  the  same  deep  sea  doth  flow. 


90 


FROM   MANY  LANDS 


HOW   TO   BECOME   A   SAINT 

IN  every  human  heart  a  herd  of  swine, 

With  hoof  unclean  and  vile  and  greedy  snout, 

Trample  upon  God's  fragrant  flowers  divine : 

Wouldst  be  a  saint  ?  Then  drive  the  creatures  out. 

FROM  THE  SANSCRIT. 


RENUNCIATION 

WHAT  man  doth  once  with  all  his  heart  renounce, 

By  that  no  more  he  suffers  pain ; 
Anger  and  care,  desire  and  discontent, 

His  quiet  soul  assault  in  vain. 

He  who  hath  slain  the  pride  that  saith,  "  'T  is  mine," 

Nor  whispers,  "I  am  thus  and  so," 
Doth  taste  the  deep  repose  Nirvana  brings, 

And  one  to  him  are  joy  and  woe. 

FROM  THE  SANSCRIT. 


01 


FLOWERS   OF   SONG 


THE   TRUE   GIFT 

NOT  costly  gifts  with  Heaven  so  much  prevail, 
When  they  for  future  recompense  are  made, 

As  some  mere  trifle  set  apart  in  faith, 

And  won  with  loving  heart  in  honest  trade. 

FROM  THE  MAHABHARATA. 


DISTASTE   FOR  LIFE 

LIVING  in  such  a  world,  I  seem  to  dwell 
A  frog  abiding  in  a  dried-up  well. 

FHOM  THE  MAHABHARATA. 


FROM   MANY    LANDS 


THE   PRESENT   HEAVEN 

LOOK  not  beyond  the  stars  for  Heaven, 

Nor  'neath  the  sea  for  Hell ; 
Know  thou  who  leads  a  useful  life 

In  Paradise  doth  dwell. 

HAFIZ. 


WHAT  NEED   OF   SACRED   HOUSE? 

ALL  forms  of  faith  one  holy  object  have; 

All  men  the  Loved  One  seek  with  constant  care ; 
And  since  the  world  is  Love's  fair  dwelling-place, 

Why  talk  of  mosque  or  sacred  house  of  prayer  ? 

HAFIZ. 


93 


FLOWERS   OF   SONG 


SUNRISE 

BEHOLD  the  morning!  Rise,  O  youth, 

And  fill  thyself  with  rosy  wine : 
From  the  crystal  cup  of  dawn, 

Drink  the  glowing  draught  divine! 

OMAR  KHAYYAM. 


THE  APPOINTED   HOUR 

No  child  of  man  may  perish  e'er  his  time  arrives, 
A  thousand  arrows  pierce  him,  and  he  still  survives ; 
But  when  the  moment  fixed  in  Heaven's  eternal  will 
Comes  round,  a  single  blade  of  yielding  grass  may  kill. 

FROM  THE  MAHABHAHATA. 


94 


FROM  MANY  LANDS 


THE  CREATION  OF  SEX 

FROM  dead  and  senseless  earth  Almighty  God  created  man: 
But  woman  made  He  from  man's  body  by  diviner  plan. 

And  thus  on  earth  began  the  wondrous  miracle  of  sex, 
The  human  heart  to  fill  with  joy,  the  empty  head  to  vex. 

Man  was  the  first  in  dim  creation's  dark  and  ancient  line; 
But  woman  is  the  softer,  sweeter,  clearer,  more  divine. 

The  Lord  from  inorganic  earth  made  man  for  toil  and  strife, 
And  moulded  then  from  living  clay  young  Adam's  lovely  wife. 

ORIENTAL  (FROM  RUCKERT). 


THE   BRAHMIN'S   DELIGHT 

Two  things  the  noble  Brahmin's  heart  delight: 
A  friend  whose  love  is  always  warm  and  true, 

And  holy  songs  from  sacred  volumes  learned ; 
He  lives  contented  who  may  claim  the  two. 

FROM  THE  SANSCRIT. 


95 


FLOWERS   OF   SONG 


THE   HELPFUL  DRUG 

THE  helpful  drug  the  patient's  pain  doth  ease, 
And  not  the  quack's  wise  name  for  his  disease. 

FROM    THE    HlTOPADESA. 


THE   HOUSE   OF   GOD 

PRONE  upon  the  earth,  in  prayer,  the  weary  Nanac  fell, 

Filled  with  all  blessed  thoughts  of  God; 
Turned  toward  the  sacred  Mecca  were  his  dusty  feet, 

And  rested  on  the  soft  green  sod. 

When,  lo !  there  passed  a  saintly  Moslem  priest  that  way, 
And  cried,  "Base  unbeliever,  dost  thou  dare  to  pray, 
Thy  graceless  feet  extended  toward  God's  city  fair?" 
But  Nanac  thus  made  answer,  "Is  not  everywhere 
God's  city  ?  Find,  if  thou  canst,  the  accursed  spot 
Where,  crowned  with  deathless  praise,  His  holy  house  is  not ! " 

FROM  THE  PERSIAN. 


96 


FROM   MANY   LANDS 


PERSIAN   COUPLETS 


THEY  always  win  the  golden  day 
Who  listen  much,  and  little  say. 


ii 


CHAIN  cruel  Anger,  lest,  when  free, 
With  iron  fetter  he  bind  thee. 


in 

WHEN  desire  ceases,  instability  disappears, 

And  buried  under  one  deep  sea  are  human  hopes  and  fears. 

IV 

SUN,  moon,  and  stars  are  a  heavenly  token 
From  One  whose  holy  name  must  not  be  spoken. 


THE  holy  prophet  Zoroaster  said, 

The  Lord  who  made  thy  teeth  shall  give  thee  bread. 

VI 

WITH  wild  and  angry  foam,  and  loud  deep  roar, 
Old  Ocean  casts  her  pearls  upon  the  shore. 

97 


FLOWERS   OF   SONG 


VII 

No  earthly  task  is  ever  wisely  wrought 
By  hand  reluctant  or  unwilling  thought. 


FROM   MANY   LANDS 


ENVY   PURSUES   THE   FRUITFUL 

REJOICE,  O  my  soul,  and  be  glad, 

When  Envy  speaks  evil  of  thee ! 
Sticks,  and  stones,  and  clods  of  the  field 

Are  cast  at  the  fruit-bearing  tree. 

FROM  THE  PERSIAN. 


THE   PRAYER   OF   A  PERSIAN 

UNTO  the  sinful  evermore  Thy  boundless  mercy  show, 
For  Thou  didst  bless  the  good,  O  Lord,  when  Thou  didst  make 
them  so. 


99 


FLOWERS   OF   SONG 


THE   CHOICE   OF   FRIENDS 

ONE  balmy  day  in  gentle  June, 

While  sporting  in  my  bath  so  free, 
In  came  a  friend  with  perfumed  clay, 

And  gave  the  fragrant  mass  to  me. 

Art  thou  of  musk  or  ambergris? 

Thou  art  like  both :  I  cannot  tell 
Whence  comes  the  charm,  but  this  I  know, 

I  am  delighted  with  thy  smell. 

"  I  was  a  piece  of  worthless  clay 

Until  the  blooming  rose  I  knew ; 
For  by  its  side  I  drank  delight, 

And  drank  its  heavenly  fragrance  too. 

"But  for  that  rose  I  should  be  still 

Mere  worthless  clay  for  idle  ends ; 
Learn  well  the  lesson  I  impart — 

Be  careful  in  your  choice  of  friends." 

SAADI. 


100 


FROM   MANY   LANDS 


THE   SUMMARY   OF   THE   LAW 

THINK  purely,  O  thou  heart  of  mine, 

Turn  from  Ahriman  awayl 
They  only  Ormazd  shall  behold 

Who  walk  in  perfect  day. 

Speak  purely,  O  ye  mortal  lips, 

From  wrath  and  falsehood  turn  away  1 

They  only  Ormazd  shall  behold 
Who  nothing  evil  say. 

Act  purely,  O  thou  form  of  flesh, 

From  lust  and  anger  turn  away ! 
They  only  Ormazd  shall  behold 

Who  holy  lives  display. 

FROM  THE  PERSIAN. 


101 


FLOWERS   OF   SONG 


THE   UNITY  OF  FAITH 

KINE  are  of  divers  colors,  but  they  all  milk  the  same ; 
Altar  flowers  are  not  alike,  but  worship  is  one  flame ; 
Systems  of  faith  may  differ  with  every  changing  zone ; 
But  God,  unchanging  ever,  remaineth  God  alone. 

VEMANJ 


MUCH   IN  LITTLE 

IN  the  eye  of  a  gnat  an  elephant  sleeps, 
Thousands  of  harvests  the  corn-kernel  keeps, 
A  dewdrop  the  banished  Euphrates  doth  hold; 
And  a  mustard-seed  doth  the  Almighty  enfold. 

FROM  THE  PERSIAN. 


102 


FROM   MANY   LANDS 


THE   DIVINE   DEMAND 

GOD  will  not  seek  thy  race, 
Nor  will  He  ask  thy  birth ; 

Alone  He  will  demand  of  thee, 
"What  hast  thou  done  on  earth?" 


FROM  THE  PERSIAN. 


MAJNUN'S   LOVE 

MAJNUN'S  love  was  not  of  earth  alone,— 
Changeless  with  sacred  truth  it  shone ; 
A  mortal  raised  the  glowing  flame, — 
From  Heaven  the  inspiration  came. 

FROM  THE  PERSIAN  OF  NISAMI. 


103 


FLOWERS   OF  SONG 


THE   SUPREME   EMANCIPATION 

UNTO  one  sick,  his  fond  disciple  cried : 

"To  what,  O  Master,  doth  thy  heart  aspire?" 
And  thus  the  sage  replied : 

"  Only  to  be  emancipated  from  desire ; 
For  when  the  belly  hath  no  ease  from  pain, 
But  suffers,  first  from  pangs  of  hunger,  then  again 
From  food — what  comfort  hath  the  spirit  or  the  brain?" 

SAADI. 


THE   SAINT'S   REPLY 

UNTO  a  saint  a  mighty  monarch  said : 

"How  often  dost  thou  think  of  me?" 
The  holy  man  made  answer  thus:  "O  king, 

When  I  forget  the  Lord  I  think  of  thee." 

SAADI. 


104 


FROM   MANY   LANDS 


INTOXICATION 

WHOM  the  ruby  wine  doth  intoxicate 

Shall  sober  when  the  fumes  are  blown  away ; 

But  whom  the  cupbearer  doth  intoxicate 
Shall  sober  not  until  the  judgment-day. 

SAADI. 


FAME 

IN  Caesar's  palace,  lo !  the  spider  weaves  her  web ; 
The  lonely  owl  doth  guard  the  tower  of  Afrasiab. 

SAADI. 


105 


FLOWERS   OF   SONG 


HYMN   TO   A   STAR 

TISTRA,  star  of  heaven,  we  praise  thee — 

Ever  glowing  bright  and  clear ; 
All  the  world  is  filled  with  beauty 

When  the  darkness  brings  thee  near. 

Like  the  burning  eye  of  Mithra, 

Pure  as  crystal  waters  are, — 
From  the  soul  of  Zarathushtra, 

Shine  upon  us  from  afar. 

With  thy  silent  torch  illumine 

All  the  darkness  of  the  way ; 
Guard  our  hearts  and  lips  from  evil, 

And  restore  us  when  we  stray. 

Holy  star,  we  praise,  adore  thee, 

Fadeless  glory  of  the  sky ! 
Never  shall  thy  radiant  beauty, 

Nor  thy  sacred  worship  die. 

FROM  THE  PERSIA 


106 


FROM  MANY  LANDS 


GAIN  STRENGTH  BY  HELPING  OTHERS 

DISTRESS  not  with  thy  troubles  other  souls, 

Since  life  hath  thorns  enough  for  all; 
With  kind  and  tender  heart  and  helpful  hand, 

Gain  strength  by  lifting  those  who  fall. 

SAADI. 


THE   END   OF   TYRANNY 

SWIFT  as  resistless  desert  winds  life's  changing  seasons  fly ; 
The  saddest  sorrows  and  the  sweetest  joys  of  earth  must  die ; 
Vainly  the  cruel  tyrant  seeks  to  bind  us  with  his  chain,— 
His  angry  rage  shall  pass  us  by,  and  on  himself  remain. 

FROM  THE  PERSIAN. 


107 


FLOWERS   OF   SONG 


AL  CAWTHAR 

AL  CAWTHAR  makes  the  desert  where  it  flows 
To  blossom  forth  in  fragrance  like  the  rose; 
Down  rocky  steeps  it  falls  in  living  showers, 
To  fill  the  Persian  land  with  fruit  and  flowers. 


FROM  THE  PERSIAN. 


108 


FROM    MANY   LANDS 


TRANSLATIONS   FROM   THE  ARABIC 

i 
DIVINE   CONTEMPLATION 

ONE  hour  of  silent  contemplation  far  outweighs 
External  worship,  lengthy  prayers,  and  empty  praise. 

ATTRIBUTED  TO  MAHOMET. 


II 

THE   TRUE   COUNSELLOR 

HE  alone  can  counsel  give 

Of  all  his  tribe, 
Whom  death  cannot  affright, 

Nor  treasure  bribe. 


in 

'LET   NOT   THE   MAN   WHO   SOWS   THORNS 
WALK   BAREFOOT" 

WOULD  you  become  a  liar? — Then  remember  well, 
Lest  in  some  thoughtless  hour  the  honest  truth  you  tell. 

109 


FLOWERS   OF   SONG 

IV 

THE   FOOL'S  FLIGHT 

HE  fled  from  the  beating  rain  without, 
And  sat  down  under  the  waterspout. 


THE   PENITENT   THIEF 

THE  thief  when  guards  are  round  about  the  door, 
Doth  bless  the  Lord  and  say,  "I  steal  no  more." 


VI 

TRUE   GENEROSITY 

HE  only  is  generous, 

Whose  gift, 
By  a  willing  hand  proffered, 

Is  swift. 


110 


FROM   MANY  LANDS 

VII 

SCANT   HOSPITALITY 

GOD  bless  the  man  and  spare  him  .grief, 
Who  kindly  makes  his  visit  brief. 


VIII 

THE   UNHALLOWED   DEAD 

IF  the  winding-sheet  be  ragged  and  old, 
The  corpse-washer  be  one-eyed  and  mean, 

The  bier  be  broken,  and  the  burial-ground  salt, 
The  dead  then  belongeth  in  hell  I  ween. 


IX 

PILGRIMAGE 

To  lighten  my  sins  to  Mecca  I  went, 
And  thought  at  the  mosque  my  guilt  to  repent; 
From  Caaba  the  holy  and  Zem-Zem  I  came, 
And  my  burden  of  guilt  was  exactly  the  same. 


Ill 


FLOWERS   OF   SONG 

x 
DECEIVED   BY  APPEARANCES 

INTO  his  one  remaining  eye  a  splinter  sank, 

And  quenched  its  sight ; 
He  merely  smiled,  and  bowed,  and  said  with  gentle  tone, 

"My  friend,  good  night!" 


XI 

WHO  HATH   MUCH  CAN  RESIGN  THE  LITTLE 

HE  upon  whom  the  full  moon  doth  shine, 
Can  the  twinkling  stars  of  heaven  resign. 


XII 

ALL   THE   SAME   AT   LAST 

BOTH  swift  and  tardy  feet, 
At  the  same  ferry  meet.19 


112 


FROM   MANY   LANDS 

XIII 

THE  ENVIOUS   CAMEL 

OF  Heaven  the  vain  and  foolish  camel  sought 

A  wide  and  branching  horn, 
But  Allah  clipped  its  loose  and  dangling  ears, 

And  laughed  the  beast  to  scorn. 

Learn  thou  the  lesson,  envious  one,— 

Unvalued  gifts  depart ; 
Wisely  cherish  what  thou  hast  to-day, 

With  calm  and  quiet  heart. 


XIV 

STOLEN   GLANCES 

THOU  mean  and  sour-faced  eunuch,  listen  well, 
And  every  word  I  breathe,  unto  thy  master  tell! 
But  thou  canst  not  the  secret  meaning  spy, 
That  lingers  in  the  sweeter  language  of  the  eye. 

BKHA-ED-Diy    ZOHEIW. 


113 


FLOWERS   OF   SONG 

xv 
THE   COQUETTE 

SHE  who  kindles  the  flame  of  fierce  desire 
Cries  at  the  first  advance,  "Fire!  fire!" 


XVI 

MIND   YOUR   OWN   BUSINESS 

AVOID  the  thing  that  doth  concern  thee  not, 
And  let  all  idle  gossip  be  forgot. 


XVII 

FERTILE   OF   RESOURCES 

A  FOOT  of  water  in  the  tank, 
Yet  in  he  plunged  and  down  he  sanK ; 
The  water  came  not  to  his  knees, 
And  yet  he  swam  about  with  ease. 


114 


FROM   MANY   LANDS 

XVIII 

THE   RIGHT  ROAD 

FOLLOW  Moses  and  Amram,  and  press  on  in  this  road 
Until  you  hear  the  solemn  words,  "  I  am  Deity ! " 

So  long  as  the  mount  of  being  remains  before  you, 

The  answer  to  "Show  me,"  is  "Thou  shalt  not  behold  Me." 

MAHOMET  IN  THE  GULSHAN-I-RAZ. 
XIX 

WHAT  COMES   OF  QUARRELLING 

ABOUT  the  cow,  with  fierce  and  angry  voice,  they  quarrelled 

all  the  day, 
And  then  the  greedy  kadhy  took  the  well-fed  creature  for  his 

pay. 


115 


FLOWERS   OF   SONG 


TRANSLATIONS   FROM   THE   HEBREW 

i 
THE   WISDOM   OF  A   CHILDLIKE   SPIRIT 

THE  world  is  saved  from  friend  and  foe 
By  what  the  little  children  know. 


ii 
'GLITTERING   CROWNS   DECEIVE 

THE  soldiers  fight  and  bravely  die, 
Their  blood  the  crimson  fields  receive : 

"The  kings  are  heroes!"  lo,  the  people  cry; 
Thus  glittering  crowns  deceive. 


in 
SECRECY 

THY  friend  hath  still  another  friend, 

And  he  a  friend  as  well ; 
Be  silent,  lest  to  all  the  world 

Their  lips  the  secret  tell. 


116 


FROM   MANY   LANDS 

IV 

THE   BIBLE 

TURN  the  Bible  o'er  and  o'er, 
Read  its  pages  more  and  more ; 
All  that  mind  can  e'er  receive, 
Or  the  loving  heart  believe, 
In  that  volume  can  be  found. 
Turn  the  Bible  round  and  round 
O  my  soul,  thou  hungry  bird, 
Taste  the  honey  of  the  Word. 


THE  THREE   FRIENDS 

MAN  in  his  life  hath  three  good  friends,— 
Wealth,  family,  and  noble  deeds; 

These  serve  him  in  his  days  of  joy, 
And  minister  unto  his  needs. 

But  when  the  lonely  hour  of  death, 
With  sad  and  silent  foot,  draws  nigh, 

Wealth  and  family  take  them  wings, 
And  from  the  dying  pillow  fly. 

But  noble  deeds,  in  love,  respond : 
"Ere  came  to  thee  the  fatal  day, 

We  went  before,  O  gentle  friend, 

And  smoothed  the  steep  and  thorny  way. 

117 


FLOWERS   OF   SONG 

VI 

MODEST  WORTH   REWARDED 

WHO  runneth  after  greatness,  from  him  greatness  flies; 
But  whoso  shunneth  greatness,  to  him  greatness  hies. 


118 


FROM   MANY   LANDS 


A   ROYAL   EPITAPH20 

I  HAVE  departed  hence, 

And  am  no  more  forever. 

Like  the  day  I  vanished, 

Hath  my  spirit  faded  from  the  world, 

And  my  voice 

Ceased  from  sounding  in  the  ears  of  men. 

Hush !  Here  sleeps  a  king, 

Encoffined  in  the  tomb 

He  builded  with  his  wealth ; 

Bequeathing  unto  whomsoe'er 

Shall  move  his  bones, 

Or  dig  for  treasure  in  his  mould'ring  dust, 

A  curse  that  shall  continue, 

And  consume  his  race : 

To  him  and  his  be  there  no  rest  for  evermore, 

Nor  fruit  of  any  toil ; 

Let  him,  when  dead,  lie  rotting  on  the  field, 

His  bones  the  prey  of  jackals. 

I  have  departed  hence, 
To  dwell  no  more  with  men; 
And,  like  the  day  I  vanished, 
Hath  my  spirit  faded  into  nothingness : 
Farewell. 

FROM    THE    PlKENICIAN    OF    EsMUNAZAH,  KlNG    OF   THE   Two    SlDONS 

119 


FLOWERS  OF  SONG 


THE  BOOK  OF  PYMANDER 

A  BOOK  have  I  written — 

Not  mine,  but  the  book  of  the  world ; 

For  her  sake 

And  the  sake  of  her  God, 

Have  I  written  these  things. 

The  Soul  once  lifted  from  sin, 

Knowing  goodness, 

Shall  fall  nevermore; 

She  shall  triumph  in  truth, 

Having  walked  through  the  world, 

And,  dying,  shall  live. 


A   HAPPY   LOT 

How  pleasant  is  my  earthly  lot, — 

To  watch  the  fishers  in  the  bay, 
And  see  them  haul  their  nets  ashore, 

Or  speed  their  white  sails  far  away. 
Here  by  the  sounding  sea  I 'd  dwell, 

The  friend  of  nature  and  of  man ; 
Enjoy  the  world  from  morn  till  eve, 

And  do  the  little  good  I  can. 

FROM  THE  JAPANESE. 


120 


FROM  MANY  LANDS 


CONFESSION 

BEFORE  I  knew  you  I  was  glad, 
But  since  I  Ve  seen  you  I  am  sad; 
And  this  confession,  fond  and  true, 
Is  made  alone,  dear  girl,  for  you. 
To  other  eyes  I  still  am  gay, 
I  laugh  though  you  are  far  away, 
I  bear  the  burden  of  the  day, 
Nor  sighs  nor  tears  my  grief  betray ; 
Oh  pity  my  distress,  and  give 
One  word  of  hope  to  bid  me  live. 

FROM  THE  JAPANESE. 


121 


FLOWERS   OF   SONG 


THE  MISSION   OF   SORROW 

TH'  unpolished  pearl  can  never  shine — 
'T  is  sorrow  makes  the  soul  divine. 


FROM  THE  JAPANESE. 


WASH,  if  thou  canst,  each  day, 
The  guilt  of  sin  away. 


INSCRIPTION  ON  THE  BATHING-TUB  OF  K'ANO. 


WHO  would  pluck  the  fragrant  rose,  I  warn : 
He  shall  feel  the  sharp  and  piercing  thorn. 

CHINESE  COUPLET. 


122 


FROM   MANY   LANDS 


THE   WORDS   OF   THE   WISE   ARE   FEW 

OF  all  the  lands  where  mighty  forests  grow, 
But  few  that  bear  the  sandalwood  I  know ; 
In  every  clime  the  wise  and  good  I  view, 
And  yet,  alas !  their  golden  words  are  few. 

SASKYA  PANDITA. 


CHINESE   COUPLET 

"  I  HAVE  seen  Cashmere,"  cried  the  ambitious  frog, 
Perched  in  slime  and  mud  upon  a  slipp'ry  log. 


123 


FLOWERS   OF   SONG 


A  PRAYER  FOR  THE   KING 

LONG  years  and  fadeless  days, 

A  keen,  swift  sword, 
And  glory  among  kings 

Unto  my  Lord. 

Grant,  O  ye  mighty  gods, 

To  him  who  gave 
Such  gifts  to  you,  this  prayer 

Of  his  true  slave. 

His  empire,  let  it  spread 

O'er  all  the  earth; 
His  sorrow  be  dissolved 

In  wine  and  mirth. 

Let  kings  before  him  kneel, 

And  own  his  sway; 
Their  sceptres  and  their  crowns 

Bestrew  his  way. 

And  when  his  life  shall  end 

In  death's  dark  night, 
Grant  him  the  happy  fields 

Of  fadeless  light. 

Assyrian  gods  attend 

The  hero's  flight, 
Up  to  the  Silver  Mount's 

Celestial  height. 


ASSYRIAN  SACRED  POETRY. 


FROM   MANY   LANDS 


THE   HUMAN   SACRIFICE 

BIND  the  victim  hand  and  foot, 

Sacred  to  the  mighty  god ; 
Let  his  flesh  be  torn  apart, 

And  his  blood  besoak  the  sod. 

Cries  the  sacrifice  with  tears, 

"I  have  wife  and  children  sweet!" 
Beat  the  drum  and  swing  the  spear ; 

Mighty  Rongo's  name  repeat. 

Now  the  priest  the  victim  takes— 

See  the  bleeding  limbs  divide! 
Warriors,  bathe  your  gleaming  spears 

In  the  foaming  crimson  tide. 

Split  the  heart  and  bear  it  hence; 

Rongo  hungers,  haste!  away! 
When  the  mighty  god  commands, 

Shall  a  mortal  disobey? 

SACRIFICIAL  HYMN  OF  THE  SOUTH  SEA  ISLANDS. 


125 


FLOWERS   OF   SONG 


CREATION  AND   TRIAL   OF   MAN 

IN  beginning  of  time  when  earth  was  young, 

Rapt  seers  have  said  and  sacred  poets  sung, 

The  God  of  heaven  created  black  and  white : 

He  laid  a  calabash  and  a  seal'd  leaf 

(Long  is  the  fate,  the  trial  all  too  brief) 

Upon  the  glistening  sod  at  noon  of  night ; 

And  in  the  dawning  and  the  glistening  dew 

Men  made  their  choice  beneath  an  arch  of  blue. 

The  dusky  race  the  calabash  upraised, 

And,  unsuspecting,  in  the  hollow  gazed— 

Alas,  how  soon  their  pride  was  levelled  low ! 

Metals  the  use  of  which  they  did  not  know, — 

Silver,  and  gold,  and  diamonds,  all  were  there, — 

Not  to  enrich,  but  to  increase  their  care. 

Unto  the  white  the  leaf  was  left, — a  prize 

That  made  them  sun-faced  children  of  the  skies. 

Knowledge  was  theirs  that  chain 'd  the  world  their  slave, 

And  every  question  solved  in  earth  and  wave. 

God  loved  and  gave  the  white  men  strength  of  mind, 

But  left  the  darker  races  dull  and  blind. 

The  tan-faced  children  to  the  desert  fled, 

And  evermore  a  roving  life  they  led. 

FROM  THE  ASHANTI. 


126 


FROM    MANY   LANDS 


THE   PRAYER   OF   A   RAIDER 

O  MASTER  of  all  living  men, 

Pity  my  sore  distress ! 
May  I  the  armed  foe  destroy, 

And  many  scalps  possess; 
Wing  thou  the  flying  arrow  so 

That  death  may  follow  swift; 
Horses  and  plunder  may  I  have,— 

The  great  Wohkonda's  gift. 
Before  thee  now,  great  Lord  of  lords, 

A  lonely  raider  stands — 
All  lives,  and  scalps,  and  horses  too, 

Are  in  thy  mighty  hands. 

FROM  THE  OSAGES. 


127 


FLOWERS   OF   SONG 


A  MOTHER'S   LAMENT   FOR  HER  DROWNED 

SON 

ALAS,  alas  thine  empty  seat,  my  son ! 

Vainly  thy  garments  I  did  toil  to  dry. 
Thy  mother's  joy  is  clouded  o'er  with  grief, 

And  darkness  veils  the  lonely  sky. 

How  oft  I  watched  with  straining  eye  for  thee, 
And  saw  thee  rowing  swiftly  o'er  the  wave ; 

Wiser  than  all  thy  race,  my  noble  boy, 
And  than  the  bravest  still  more  brave. 

Never  with  empty  hand  didst  thou  return, 

But  now  I  mourn  thine  empty  hand  and  place ; 

Alas,  how  useless  seems  the  world  to  me, 
Since  I  no  more  behold  thy  face ! 

Friends,  could  I  weep  as  ye  are  weeping  now, 
It  were  some  comfort  to  my  breaking  heart ; 

The  fever  burns  my  brow,  my  sight  is  dim, 
The  anguish  is  too  deep  for  tears  to  start. 

Death,  death  alone  can  now  be  good  to  me ; 

Life  is  a  loathsome  thing,  and  I  would  go, 
Far,  far  away  from  Greenland's  rocky  coast, 

Its  icy  waves  and  fields  of  sparkling  snow. 


128 


FROM   MANY   LANDS 

Take  me,  sweet  Death,  to  thy  divine  embrace, 
Seal  with  deep  slumber  every  aching  sense ; 

The  world  is  empty  and  the  stars  are  dust, 
They  hold  no  love  for  me.  I  would  go  hence. 

FROM  THE  GREENLANDIC. 


129 


NOTES 


NOTES 

1  BLIND  PASSENGER — one  who  travels  without  paying  fare. 

2  When  Magnus  sought  the  realms  of  night, 
Grim  Pluto  trembled  for  his  right. 
"That  fellow  comes,"  he  said,  "'tis  plain, 
To  call  my  ghosts  to  life  again." 

TRANSLATED  FROM  LUCILIUS  BY  REV.  ROBERT  BLAND. 

3  This  hymn  by  Luther  is  a  rendering  of  the  "Media  in  Vita"  of  Notker,  a  de 
vout  and  learned  Benedictine  of  St.  Gall,  who  died  about  912.  There  is  a  tradi 
tion  that  he  composed  his  "Media  in  Vita"  while  watching  workmen  who  were 
engaged  in  constructing  the  bridge  of  Martinsbruck  at  the  peril  of  their  lives. 
It  was  set  to  music  and  became  very  popular.  Later  a  suspicion  grew  up  in  the 
minds  of  men  that  some  of  the  lines  had  the  power  of  exercising  magical  influ 
ences,  and  so  the  hymn  was  suppressed. 

4  Johannes  Scheffler,  generally  known  by  the  name  he  assumed  on  entering  the 
Roman  Catholic  Church,  ANGELUS  SILESIUS,  was  born  in  the  year  1624,  at  Breslau, 
Prussia.  He  was  educated  in  the  Lutheran  faith,  but  seems  never  to  have  been 
fully  satisfied  with  the  doctrines  of  the  Reformation.  He  was  for  a  time  court- 
physician,  and  special  medical  attendant  upon  the  Emperor  Ferdinand  III,  but 
being  a  man  of  ample  fortune,  he  soon  retired  from  the  practice  of  a  profession 
for  which  he  had  only  an  indifferent  relish.  In  1661  he  received  ordination  in 
the  order  of  the  Franciscans,  and  ten  years  later  retired  to  a  convent,  where  he 
spent  the  remainder  of  his  life.  His  first  collection  of  poems,  published  in  1657, 
appeared  under  the  title:  "Holy  Joy  of  the  Soul;  or  Spiritual  Shepherd-songs 
of  the  Jesus-enamoured  Psyche."  His  best  work  is  known  as  "The  Cherubic 
Wanderer,"  and  is  a  collection  of  1615  rhymed  epigrams,  many  of  which  are 
exceedingly  beautiful.  The  philosophical  and  religious  views  of  the  later  poems 
of  Scheffler  are  clearly  traceable  to  the  influence  of  Frankenberg,  and  to  the 
works  of  Tauler  and  Jacob  Boehme. 

Hegel  in  his  "Esthetic"  alludes  to  Scheffler  in  these  terms:  "The  pantheistic 
unity,  when  the  stress  is  laid  upon  the  subject,  which  feels  itself  in  this  unity 
with  God,  and  which  feels  God  as  this  presence  in  subjective  consciousness, 
results  in  mysticism.  Mysticism  in  this  form  has  developed  itself  also  in  Chris 
tianity.  As  an  illustration,  let  me  cite  Angelus  Silesius,  who  has  expressed  with 
the  greatest  profundity  and  boldness  of  contemplation  and  feeling,  and  with  a 

133 


NOTES 

wonderful  mystic  power  of  presentation,  the  substantial  existence  of  God  in 
things,  and  the  union  of  our  selfhood  with  God,  and  of  God  with  human 
subjectivity." 

5  Some  say  his  last  words  were:  "Let  down  the  curtain,  the  farce  is  over." 

6  Spen,  mijn  liever  dochter,  don  gave  ik  u  een  koe. 
Ach!  mijn  liever  moeder,  het  maakt  mij  zoo  moe — 

Ik  kan  met  spenuer, 
Ach  zea!  mijn  vinger  doet  mij  zoo  seer. 

Spen,  mijn  liever  dochter,  don  gave  ik  u  een  paard. 
Ach!  mijn  liever  moeder,  ik  ben  het  niet  waard  — 

Ik  kan  niet  spenner, 
Ach  zea !  mijn  vinger  doet  mij  zoo  seer. 

Spen,  mijn  liever  dochter,  don  gave  ik  een  schaap. 
Ach!  mijn  liever  moeder,  het  geve  mij  de  gaap  — 

Ik  kail  niet  spenner, 
Ach  zea!  mijn  vinger  doet  mij  zoo  seer. 

Spen,  mijn  liever  dochter,  don  gave  ik  u  een  man. 
Ach!  mijn  liever  moeder,  dongaan  ik  daaraan — 

Ik  kan  wall  spenner, 
Ach  zea!  mijn  vinger  doet  mijn  ghene  seer. 

7  Agnes  Sorel,  Dame  de  Fromenteau,  was  one  of  the  greatest  beauties  in  the 
time  of  Charles  VII.  She  lived  five  years  in  the  service  of  the  Queen,  during 
which  time  she  enjoyed  all  the  pleasures  of  life,  in  wearing  rich  clothes,  furred 
robes,  golden  chains,  and  precious  stones.  Charles  was  greatly  infatuated  with 
her  loveliness,  as  well  as  by  her  pleasing  manners  and  agreeable  conversation. 
He  gave  her  the  Castle  of  Beaute-sur-Maine,  as  well  as  several  other  estates. 
The  King  even  neglected  the  care  of  his  kingdom  and  all  public  business  for  the 
sake  of  the  fair  Agnes.  She  was  very  high  spirited;  constantly  reproached  him 
for  his  indolence,  urged  upon  him  the  duties  of  his  state,  and  roused  him  to 
take  effective  means  to  secure  his  crown. 

It  was  singular  that  Charles  VII  should  find  his  chief  support  in  the  female 
sex — in  Joan  of  Arc,  all  purity  and  saintly  courage,  who  at  the  age  of  eighteen 
drove  the  English  from  Orleans,  and  won  the  battle  of  Patay;  and  in  Agnes 
Sorel,  the  lady  of  beauty,  who  in  a  measure  atoned  for  her  sins  by  her  disin 
terestedness  and  patriotism. 

Agnes  died  on  Monday,  the  ninth  day  of  February,  in  the  year  1450.  Her 
134 


NOTES 

body  was  interred  in  the  Church  of  the  Abbey  of  Loches,  to  which  she  had 
been  a  most  liberal  benefactress. 

Her  heart  was  buried  in  the  chapel  of  the  Virgin  at  Jumieges,  beneath  a 
lofty  and  magnificent  mausoleum  of  black  marble.  Agnes  herself  was  repre 
sented  kneeling  on  both  knees,  and  offering  a  heart  to  the  Mother  of  Mercy. 
At  the  foot  of  the  tomb  was  another  heart  in  white  marble.  All  this  has  per 
ished,  but  the  tabular  piece  which  covered  the  mausoleum  may  still  be  seen 
at  Rouen,  inserted  in  the  wall  of  a  house  in  the  Rue  Saint  Maur  Faubourg 
Cauchoise. 

HARTSHORNE:  "ENSHRINED  HEARTS." 

8  When  the  statue  of  Night  was  exhibited  for  the  first  time,  the  following  lines 
were  found  among  the  verses  affixed  to  it,  according  to  the  custom  of  the  time: 

"La  Notte  che  tu  vedi  in  si  dolci  atti 
Dormire,  fu  da  un  Angelo  scolpita 
In  questo  sasso,  e  perche  dorme  ha  vita; 
Destala,  se  no'l  credi,  e  parlaratti." 

Angel  and  Angelo,  as  a  part  of  Michael  Angelo's  name,  allow  a  double  mean 
ing,  which  in  this  manner  has  been  often  used  in  his  praise.  The  author  was 
Giovanni  Battista  Strozzi,  one  of  the  most  decided  adherents  of  the  Medici, 
who  had  left  the  city  in  1529,  and  had  occupied  himself  in  Padua,  during  the 
war,  in  scientific  works. 

Michael  Angelo  made  the  statue  itself  reply  to  these  verses.  The  poem  runs 
thus: 

"Grato  m'  e  '1  sonno,  e  piu  1*  esser  di  sasso, 

Mentre  che  '1  danno  e  la  vergogna  dura ; 

Non  veder,  non  sentir,  m'  e  gran  ventura ; 

Pero  non  mi  destar,  deh  !  parla  basso!" 

GRIMM:  "LiFE  OF  MICHAEL  ANGELO." 

9  Perhaps  Henry  Conrad,  a  German  physician  of  the  seventeenth  century. 

10  If  this  we  see  be  bread,  how  can  it  last, 
So  constantly  consum'd,  yet  always  here? 
If  this  be  God,  then  how  can  it  appear 
Bread  to  the  eye,  and  seem  bread  to  the  taste? 
If  bread,  why  is  it  worshipp'd  by  the  baker? 
If  God,  can  such  a  space  a  God  comprise? 
If  bread,  how  is  it,  it  confounds  the  wise? 
If  God,  how  is  it  that  we  eat  our  Maker? 

135 


NOTES 

If  bread,  what  good  can  such  a  morsel  do? 

If  God,  how  is  it  we  divide  it  so? 

If  bread,  such  saving  virtue  could  it  give? 

If  God,  how  can  I  see  and  touch  it  thus? 

If  bread,  how  could  it  come  from  heav'n  to  us? 

If  God,  how  can  I  look  at  it  and  live? 

Louis  PONCE  DE  LEON. 

11  Horace  had  probably  invited  some  of  his  friends  to  supper,  and  his  slave  was 
making  an  extraordinary  preparation  for  their  entertainment. 

The  ancients  used  to  crown  their  heads  with  myrtle  at  their  feasts,  not  only 
because  they  thought  that  it  dispelled  the  vapors  of  their  wine,  but  because  it 
was  sacred  to  Venus. 

LAMB. 

12  Martial  has  two  other  epigrams  upon  creatures  enclosed  in  amber: 

As  'mong  the  poplar  boughs  a  viper  crawls, 

The  liquid  gum  upon  him  struggling  falls: 

With  drops  alone  while  wond'ring  to  be  held, 

He  straight  within  the  amber  was  congeal'd. 

Then  of  thy  tomb,  proud  queen,  think  not  too  high  : 

A  worm  far  nobler  here  entomb'd  doth  lie. 

ANON.  1695. 

The  bee  enclosed,  and  through  the  amber  shown, 
Seems  buried  in  the  juice  which  was  his  own. 
So  honor' d  was  a  life  in  labor  spent : 
Such  might  he  wish  to  have  his  monument. 

HAY. 

13  Fabullus  had  given  an  entertainment  at  which  all  the  guests  were  provided 
with  perfumes,  and  no  food. 

With  lace  bedizen'd  comes  the  man, 

And  I  must  dine  with  Lady  Anne. 

A  silver  service  loads  the  board, 

Of  eatables  a  slender  hoard. 

"Your  pride,  and  not  your  victuals  spare, 

I  came  to  dine,  and  not  to  stare." 

DR.  JOHN  HOADLY. 


136 


NOTES 

14  The  meaning  of  this  epigram  is  obscure,  but  it  doubtless  expresses  a  fear  on 
the  part  of  certain  white  cows  that  should  Marcus  be  victorious  they  must  be 
slain  for  sacrifice. 

15  Interesting  in  this  connection  is  Tennyson's  amusing  epigram,  entitled  "The 
Skipping- Rope": 

Sure  never  yet  was  Antelope 

Could  skip  so  lightly  by. 
Stand  off,  or  else  my  skipping-rope 

Will  hit  you  in  the  eye. 
How  lightly  whirls  the  skipping-rope ! 

How  fairy-like  you  fly! 
Go,  get  you  hence,  you  muse  and  mope; 

I  hate  that  silly  sigh. 
Nay,  dearest,  teach  me  how  to  hope, 

Or  tell  me  how  to  die. 
There,  take  it,  take  my  skipping-rope, 

And  hang  yourself  thereby. 

16  Afflictis  lentse,  celeres  gaudentibus  horae. 

MOTTO  ON  A  SUN-DIAL  AT  COURMAYEUH,  IN  THE  VALLEY  OF  AOSTA. 

Felicibus  brevis,  miseris  hora  longa. 

MOTTO  ON  A  SUN-DIAL  AT  MARTIGNY. 

Maestis  lentae,  celeres  gaudentibus  horae. 

MOTTO  ON  A  SUN-DIAL  NEAR  PADUA. 

17 Ovid  (Ex  Ponto,  1.  4,  49)  thus  addresses  his  wife: 

O  ego,  Di  faciant,  talem  te  cernere  possim, 

Caraque  mutatis  oscula  ferre  genis; 
Amplectique  meis  corpus  non  pingue  lacertis. 

18  She  was  entombed  near  a  marble  fountain  whereon  were  carved  Nymphs  and 
a  Hermes. 

19  Boats  on  the  Nile  wait  a  long  time  for  passengers. 

20  Shakspeare  was  not  the  only  one  who  left  a  curse  to  the  despoiler  of  his  tomb, 
as  we  see  from  Esmunazar's  hopeless  and  ungracious  lines.  Curses  of  the  kind 

137 


NOTES 

were  not  uncommon  among  the  Romans.  By  the  Aurelian  Gate  was  the  follow 
ing  inscription,  dating  from  a  pagan  period: 

c.  TVLIVS.  c.  L. 

BARNAEVS 

OLLA.   EJVS.  SI.  QVI 

0V  VIOLARIT.  AD 

INFEROS.   NON  RECIPIATVR. 

(C.  Tullius  Barnaeus.  If  any  one  violate  this  urn,  let  him  not  be  received  into 
the  Infernal  Regions.) 

Maitland  records  an  epitaph  of  the  same  spirit  among  Christian  remains  in 
the  Lapidarian  Gallery,  which  he  renders  into  English  thus:  "  If  any  one  violates 
this  Sepulchre,  let  him  perish  miserably,  lie  unburied,  and  not  arise,  but  have 
his  lot  with  Judas." 


THIS  BOOK  IS  DUE  ON  THE  LAST  DATE 
STAMPED  BELOW 


AN     INITIAL     FINE     OF     25     CENTS 

WILL  BE  ASSESSED  FOR  FAILURE  TO  RETURN 
THIS  BOOK  ON  THE  DATE  DUE.  THE  PENALTY 
WILL  INCREASE  TO  SO  CENTS  ON  THE  FOURTH 
DAY  AND  TO  $1.OO  ON  THE  SEVENTH  DAY 
OVERDUE. 


MAR  15  1933 


LD  21-50m-l,'3i 


.•s    of 


.   7'14. 


UL  31  19| 


QCT    S 


1AR  15  19 


f  • 


Spencer. 


7  IA.'!  JiJjL. 


UNIVERSITY 

' 


1 10 


L 


'9- 


CD311171E1 


